Moving the Stars
by Last Haven
Summary: The time of Jareth, Goblin King, is over and Toby has assumed the role Jareth left him. Unlike Jareth before him, Toby won't have to fulfill his duties alone. 50 instances of Toby/Moppet, based on the comics, most likely AU, and some J/S for spice.
1. A Wish Your Heart Makes

**Disclaimer: Labyrinth is copyrighted to the Jim Henson Company and its comic book sequel is copyrighted to Tokyopop.**

I've seen people complain before about the seemingly limited variety of pairing choices in Labyrinth fan fiction. Well, I'm proving that wrong! Besides, I always wanted to do something with Moppet. Moppet, by the way, is from the comic in case you have no idea what I'm talking about.

This is more likely to be a series of one-shots and drabbles all following my strange ideas of what may or may not happen next in the comics. (Damn those jerks; that was the meanest cliff-hanger for me!) The prompts are from 50 Art of Words Challenge from Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges, from the first table specifically.

This prompt will be continued in another drabble; yes, I will explain. Don't start chasing me with pitchforks yet.

Also, there is a secondary pairing of Jareth/Sarah as well.

**Prompt: "Broken Glass"**

* * *

Things were going according to plan. Not to mention, if Jareth played his cards right, he would win a young bride to go with his new protégé. In his arms, he spun the lovely and enthralling (or was it enthralled?) Sarah. And what a lovely armful she made too, her expression open, her eyes innocent and wide in her lovely face. The surroundings only made that purity shine more, like a beacon in the darkest night. Such a lovely girl, a far more tempting prize than her younger brother for sure, but still too young. But now, as she realized a small extent of the debauchery going on around her, some of that innocence fled in shame. If she stayed here too long, those innocent eyes wouldn't be a problem.

_But I'll be there for you_

But then, wasn't that purity part of her charm? If only she would bend to his will, this game wouldn't be necessary, nor would the need for cruelty be so important.

Damn her innocent eyes indeed.

_As the World Falls Down_

Her head kept craning around, even as he sang to her. He couldn't restrain the smirk from materializing on his face. Even if she discovered the truth of his illusions, it wouldn't matter. His spell was burying her memories of Toby, her friends, and her quest deep in the recesses of her mind. But she would never realize, even now she would let her eyes linger on him, falling back under his sway, as she looked about.

There was no escape. Here in this crystal dream he had made, she was his.

_But if you turn it this way and look into it, it will show you your dreams._

But then, something changed. He frowned as something in the crystal dream changed, like a song missing a beat. And then he heard the clock, chiming away. He didn't remember putting a clock there.

Too late, he felt her slipping from his grip. So surprised at her rejection and escape, he stood rooted as she fled. Only subconsciously did he manipulate the dancers to try and bring her back but his willful lass slipped past them. His arms felt cold and he let the crowd swallow him.

He physically mourned the loss as the walls of his dream crumbled down.

* * *

"Moppet?" Toby asked, suddenly drawing her back to reality. She looked up, wild eyed, to see his face swiftly change to confusion and worry. They had been taking inventory of one of the many dream crystal rooms (Jareth hadn't left very good records) and they had been talking when she had found a crystal slightly different from the rest. One that called to her with a strange siren song.

And now she knew why.

_As the World Falls Down_

"Moppet? Are you alright?" he tried again, reaching out to her.

The crystal slipped between her fingers before crashing to the floor. Instead of breaking into thousands of splinters of glass, it popped when it made contact, like a soap bubble. She didn't need to look to know it was gone. Sarah's, or rather Jareth's, crystal was forever gone. She wondered what that meant for them.

"Moppet?"

_I know what it means for me,_ she thought distantly.

"Moppet, answer me! Are you okay?"

"I'm a Dream Child," she whispered, then fled.


	2. Chasing Cars

Rereading this, it comes off as very corny. Then again I wrote it at two in the morning when I was supposed to be asleep. oo Oh well.

**Prompt: "Memories"**

* * *

Moppet's surprising flight from the crystal room left Toby baffled. Carefully putting back the dream crystal he was holding, he set his clipboard and notes aside and hurried after her. Or at least he tried to. By the time he left the room, she was turning the corner; when he turned the corner, she was already on the other end of the hall and pulling away fast.

Whatever drove her out of the room like a bat out of hell kept her going so fast, he never had a chance of catching up. Panting, he paused to catch his breath.

"Now, where'd she go?" he mumbled to himself. A loitering goblin mistook the comment as being aimed at itself and shrugged before wandering off. Toby watched the retreating goblin with mixed amusement. Shaking his head, his thoughts turned back to his fleeing friend. He could ask Hana, Skub, or Stank for help if they were around, but then he slapped his hand to his forehead.

He _was_ the Goblin King now. But more importantly, he was the Lord of the Labyrinth. Amused by his own forgetfulness, he mentally reached out to the magic of the Labyrinth. It grasped back, warm and loving as a cat, all encompassing. He allowed himself a moment to bask in its warmth but then shook himself free to pose a question of it. In short order he had its answer and its offer to help. Smiling, he took it up on its offer. He closed his eyes and felt the surroundings around him shift. When he next opened his eyes, he saw he was in a large arid meadow, between the Goblin City and the great river that flowed through the Labyrinth. He was atop on hill and from his vantage point he could see Moppet racing up one not too far from his only to flop down upon it.

Worried that she might have hurt herself in her wild run, he hurried over, only slowing when he had to climb up the hill. When he reached the top, he huffed as he watched her panting harshly. "Moppet…you okay?"

It took her a few moments before she caught enough air to speak. She nodded however, before speaking. "Just a … little tired … s'all."

He rolled his eyes at her although the effect was lost on her since she didn't see it. "I can see that," he retorted.

She didn't reply, instead she curled unto her side, her breath finally evening out.

He frowned and sank down on the grass next to her. "Moppet, what happened in there? What's wrong?"

He watched her bit her lip before she finally sighed. "Toby…what do you remember from when you were a child?" she asked quietly, digging her index finger deeper into the dead grass, making a small hole.

He let both eyebrows go up. "Um…a bit. About as much as anyone else, I guess," he answered. "You naturally forget, but what does this have to do with whatever it was that spooked you?"

She was quiet for a long moment, but he wanted to know, so he waited for her to speak. "I…I realized why _I_ don't remember being a child."

He stared blankly at her arched back. "And…why's that?"

She turned over to look at him before she finally sat up. "I think I'm a Dream Child."

"What's that?"

"It means I…am a creation…" she tried to explain.

"…like a magic creation?"

"Yes. Yes, exactly. But I was created from dreams and memories of someone else…" she turned to look at his face. Although he tried to contain his confusion and unease, she read it from his stiff posture. "I know it sounds crazy, but _it makes sense,_ I swear! Look, I look like your sister, right?"

He twitched in spite of himself. "Yeah, it was really kinda creepy at first."

She frowned and he knew she wasn't going to let him get away with that one later. "And I was abandoned in Junk Yard. The only memories are vague; the only really clear is one of Jareth-"

Toby frowned suspiciously. "And just what was he doing with you in it?"

She paused to look torn between amusement and annoyance. "Never you mind that. Anyway, I think, Jareth might have created me!"

He looked at her quietly with wide eyes. "…and…why do you think that?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Honestly! I think he tried to make a replacement for your sister."

His jaw dropped. "You're kidding me."

"Oh, for- You _must_ know he was mooning after your sister, don't you?"

Now he felt torn; torn between the need to retch (because Jareth? And SARAH? That was…it was…Bleh!) and the need to say yes just on the principle of how exasperated and expecting she sounded, like he was a blind moron if he didn't say yes. "Well…yeah, he did go see her after he left…I think."

"Right, now think! After she left, he was in power for a while before he started to weaken. See?"

Well, no, he didn't. "But how do you … realize all this from looking in that crystal?"

She sat primly. "I saw a dream that he sent her. When she was running the Labyrinth for you, he must have sent it as a distraction."

Again he twitched; being reminded of the fact Sarah wished him away as a baby wasn't pleasant. It seemed so…out of character. _She grew up,_ he reminded himself. _And thank god for that._ "So…what does that mean for you? Is Jareth like your dad?"

Moppet paused to think about it. "I…don't think so. Or at least, not in any biological sense. And we weren't close, so he wasn't a father even in an emotional sense so…no?"

"No," he repeated. "…Okay then."

She sighed with relief and shifted so she was more comfortable. "You know…I had kinda expected as much."

"Really?" he asked, leaning back on his elbows.

"Mmmhmm."

"Huh," was all he could think to say.

For a long time, they sat there, each thinking their own thoughts. Toby let the idea of his friend, maybe his best friend, being the creation of Jareth. He couldn't really understand it, but Moppet seemed sure. He was half tempted to ask her if they should ask someone else, maybe even Jareth, but then she'd probably snap at him so he didn't bother. As it was, his mind was falling blissfully blank when he suddenly realized Moppet was making a funny noise. He blinked and looked over to see her. She was sniffling and rubbing her eyes vigorously, like she had dirt in them. "You okay?"

"What if…" she began, sniffing loudly. "What if I don't get any older? I haven't aged in years, and this explains _why_ but what if it means I stay like this…forever? What if I outlast everyone because I'm a Dream Child?"

_Now where did that come from? I'll never get girls. _Toby mused on it for a moment before sitting up. "Well, you know, didn't Jareth say he ran this place, what, 1300 years?" he started, drawing her attention. "I am human, but I can do magic, and I control the Labyrinth…I wouldn't be surprised if I stopped aging too, you know? What's the point of picking me if I die so soon?"

"Toby…?"

He blinked and tried to smile brightly at her. "What I'm trying to say is, don't worry about it! You won't be alone, cause I'll be in the same boat, got it?"

Moppet frowned. "Same boat?"

"Um, I mean, I'll be right here with you," he laughed nervously. _God, that sounded corny._

She looked at him quietly before finally smiling. "Promise?"

He grinned, reaching out his hand to shake on it. "Call it a Goblin King promise."

A few tears slipped past and before he could understand, she tossed her arms around his neck. "I'll hold you to it," she whispered, gripping him tightly.

Awkward but not unpleased, he patted her back. "Uh, heh, you got it," he answered. After a moment, she pulled away and they settled on the grass, side by side, watching the clouds pass by. "What do you say we just stay out here for the rest of the day?" he suggested.

She raised her brows at him. "Don't you have a full schedule?"

"Nothing I can't get to later."

She giggled but turned her gaze back to the sky. "If this _is_ how eternity shapes out to be, I don't think it'll be too bad."

He grinned at her. "Me neither."


	3. Call Me When You're Sober

Yay for nonlinear story telling. This is set in the future of the first two chapters, and indeed in the future of coming chapters. I liked the lighter tone of this, I wanted people to know, it won't always be heavy (not that I won't go dark).

**The prompt is: "Drunk"**

* * *

Toby had never really developed a taste for alcohol of any sort due to the fact that while his mother expressly forbad him drinking alcohol, Sarah had snuck him a taste as a young boy. After taking a sip from her wine glass, his face visibly contorted and he began to splutter. Patting his back while hiding her amused smile, Sarah efficiently destroyed any curiosity or want for alcohol for him.

This left him the odd man out at many parties, whether it be after-game parties on Friday nights-

"Whoopee!"

-…or official celebrations he threw as Goblin King. Glancing up, he smiled at the goblin who weighed a little too much for the chandelier he was swinging on. If one of the goblins had pulled such a stunt when he first stumbled into the Labyrinth, he would have promptly spazzed out, however the sight barely warranted the notice he took of it. Casually but carefully wandering around the immediate crash site of the soon to be broken chandelier, he meandered through the crowds, pausing to chat occasionally with people or goblins (in particular the janitor who would replace the old chandelier). Many of his guests were getting a little tipsy.

_I should really speak to Skub about using the stronger wine at these state functions,_ he thought with a smirk as the Morainean ambassador bowed to him, nearly spilling his glass, for the third time that night. He decided to carefully file away the useful fact that this pompous man was a forgetful drunk before he moved on to other people.

_If the ambassador from Moraine is a forgetful drunk,_ Toby thought, _and the goblins wild, the guards are the stony quiet types._ Well, at least the ones in the room were, who constantly snuck drinks from the heavily spiked punch. Discrete as they tried to be, Toby noticed the telltale glaze in their eyes. He should have gone over there to scold them for drinking on duty but then, when it came right down to it, as the Goblin King he had more power and ability to stop any assassination attempts or break up fights. They were really just there for the intimidation factor, even if that image was looking a little shaky as they collectively leaned to the right to his amusement.

Keeping up his running list, he began to add other people to the different categories; a few dwarves to the depressed drunks, Hana to the singing type (and what a pretty voice she had, he'd have to tease her later), and his old teacher, Sir Didymus, to a more 'eccentric' category as he constantly wobbled around, challenging people to duels. For once he was glad he was the odd man out, otherwise he would have missed seeing the different sides to his friends. And to his surprise, he found himself not alone in being sober.

Hoggle and Ludo were both trying to keep an eye on Sir Didymus, he saw. "If you don't sit down and hush up, I'll have Ludo sit on you," Hoggle growled, catching the back of the fox terrier's doublet before he could chase after another person.

"Hey, guys," he called to them as he walked over. They greeted him respectfully as his station deserved but quickly fell back onto friendly banter. "I see you guys are looking after our friend here."

"Yeah, well," Hoggle started; however, Sir Didymus abruptly interrupted him.

"Rapscallion! I saw that! I shall have your head for such an offense to our noble young king," he shouted, lunging forward at some unlucky soul and swinging his staff wildly.

They had to wrestle him back, screaming all the while, and Toby had to apologize sincerely to the unfortunate guest from a visiting kingdom. "Sir Didymus," Toby hissed, turning back, mentally switching the small knight from the eccentric drunk category to the violently protective category, "as you're king, I order to sit there and listen to Hoggle. You're going to cause a scene," he added.

"I have disgraced you, your majesty?" he asked with wide, teary eyes.

Toby promptly switched him back to the eccentric category. "No, but if you really want to help me, you'll listen to Hoggle, okay?"

Sir Didymus nearly swelled with pride and promptly nodded. "For you, my king, I shall do as ordered."

"About time," Hoggle grumbled, rubbing his temples.

Toby turned and raised a brow at the dwarf. "You're not drinking, Hoggle?" he asked, smiling now that Sir Didymus was quietly studying the crowd (just in case he would have to protect his king again).

"After I woke up the day after your sister left, retching and with a headache the size of the stone maze, I swore off of it," he said, keeping an eye on his fox friend, just in case.

Toby grinned then blinked and looked around. "Any of you seen Moppet around here?"

"Moppet left," Ludo answered, pointing towards the nearest door. "Throne room."

Toby smiled gratefully up at the large Rock Caller. "Thanks, Ludo, I'm gonna go find her then."

"Sure that's a good idea?" Hoggle asked.

Before Toby could reply, Didymus whirled around on the dwarf. "Are you questioning our king? Scoundrel, _heresy!_ I shall demand satisfaction in my liege's place for you-"

It took another good five minutes to calm Didymus down since the fox knight had tried to take a few too-accurate-for-comfort swings at Hoggle. Ludo in the end sat (gently!) on his foster brother while Toby checked Hoggle's newly acquired lumps. Prodding gently at the swelling, he decided the dwarf was in little danger unless Didymus got free again. Scolding his drunken over protective knight, he left to find his girlfriend.

Fortunately, it didn't take too long to find her—he didn't even have to leave the room. With little warning, suddenly she stepped in front of him before he reached the door, grinning brightly. At first he smiled and started to speak but then he paused and looked closer at her. "Moppet, have you been drinking?"

"Just some punch," she giggled. She leaned closer, as a child would do when telling a secret, and whispered. "But I think someone might have said it was spiked, but you didn't hear that from me."

"Oh…" he said, staring at her. Moppet was always so responsible, and while she did sometimes bend and break rules to her own benefits, she didn't do it in such a public manner. She didn't sway, slur, or shout, but her eyes were glazed and she seemed …off.

"So, where have _you_ been?"

"Looking for you actually; the guys said you were in the throne room, I was going to check there," he answered, wondering if he should try and get her glass away from her. As amusing a prospect of seeing his girlfriend get drunk, he didn't look forward to the hangover in the morning.

"_Well_, I was there," she drawled. Toby blinked slowly. "But then, I decided to come back for some more punch."

He frowned at the cup she had thrust under his nose. He could definitely smell something off about the drink, something he was willing to bet was the Underground version of vodka. "I see. Moppet, babe, can I see that for a moment…?"

She pulled it back and protectively held it against her breast. "No, it's _mine_. You can go get your own."

He paused. "You've spilled it on your dress."

Her eyes widened comically and she quickly looked down. "Where? Where?" she asked, pulling her arms away to check.

He quickly snatched her drink away and she amusingly remained oblivious. He handed it to a waiter as he passed and then turned back to his girlfriend. "Guess I was wrong. Say, you wanna go get some fresh air?"

She blinked. "Kay."

Grinning, he offered his arm to her which she accepted and then led her out of the room. He wandered until he found a window with a wide enough sill to sit on before easing her down. "You like the party?"

"Yes, but do you?" she asked, looming, actually _looming_, over him. She had to stand a little to do it however.

He tried not to snicker at her. "I like being out here with you better."

"Aww, that's so sweet of you," she cooed. He grinned at her as she edged closer. "Toby…"

"Yes…?" he asked, leaning closer.

"_Toby_."

"Yes," he repeated, tilting his head to kiss her. This, however, didn't happen. Instead, she latched onto his collar then turned her head to abruptly vomit out the window. He froze but finally sighed and helped pull her hair out of the way as she puked in the azalea bushes below them. _So much for the mood,_ he thought grumpily then curiously looked out the window. _So much for those flowers too._


	4. Over the Rainbow

As Goblin King, you know it had to happen sooner or later...

**Prompt: "Sour"**

* * *

It took over three months before Toby got the first Wish. It came as a shock, the sharp pull of the calling, like tether hooks in his mind that refused to release him until he relented and answered the Wish. Moppet had helplessly tried to comfort him but she could say nothing, not even a tiny consolation. Goblins swarmed with gleeful delight as they journeyed with him to the Aboveground. He half hoped that he wouldn't know where to go, but it seemed that if even he didn't know where the Wisher was, the goblins knew. They tugged on his hands, pants, and coattails, pulling him forward.

The Wish came from in a rather dingy and smoky apartment, it was a squalid place with dishes piling high in the sink and trash spilled over the floor. Inside he saw a young woman, older than Sarah had been when she Wished him away, probably mid twenties. Old enough to know better than to make the Wish, he thought but then, he knew without a doubt, it had been her that Wished. On the floor before here were three children, one boy, maybe eight, a girl, five, and then a baby murmuring in the girl's arms, sex unidentifiable by the clothes or baby blanket wrapped around it.

Frowning, but knowing instinctually what to do, he raised his hand and clenched it into fist, causing all the lights to die in the room. The young girl let out a frightened cry, her brother started, and their mother looked up in confusion. "Go," he muttered to the goblins around him; they gleefully surged forward, for once more than eager to do his bidding. In a moment, the mother ducked out of the apartment to see if other lights in the building were out and the goblins struck, carrying the children off before they could utter a sound.

The goblins' part done and his own truly beginning, Toby shifted from the neighboring roof to the window sill leading to the fire escape. He sat on its ledge and waited for the woman to return.

When she came back in, muttering about faulty wiring and calling the superintendent, he heard the first malicious giggling of the goblins that hadn't left with the children. The confused Wisher looked around until he cleared his throat. She glanced up and he distantly noted her eyes widening with fear.

"Who are you?" she blurted first then hissed. "How'd you get in here? Get out!"

The curtains flittered around him, nearly veiling him to her. He was glad for even the flimsy barrier. "Funny. You think most mothers would have looked for their kids first," he observed faintly.

His words took a moment to sink in before she actually checked the floor where they had cowered before her. "What have you _done_ with them?" she screamed. Her neighbor pounded on the wall and told her to shut up. He had a feeling that that would be the most of the interruptions.

"What I did to them?" he repeated distastefully. "All I did was what I was called for—I _granted_ your Wish."

Her pupils shrank even in the dim light. "But…it was…I was just saying that to keep them quiet!"

He frowned and finally stood. "Didn't you ever learn to be careful for what you wished for?"

She stared woefully at them. "You…you won't hurt them…will you?"

"That no longer concerns you," he bit out. Part of him wanted to yell 'Of course I would never hurt them! How you could _you_ have ever thought to though?'

She glared. "Give them back."

"No."

She began to look fearful. "Please. Give them back. The police—what will I say if they never come back? What will I tell the school and-"

"Your children are gone, and all you can think of is what you'll have to tell everyone else?" he snapped, uncrossing his arms and clenching his fists. She was so cowed by his outburst, she shrank back. After a moment, he took a deep breath and straightened out. "But, you know, I can give you one last chance…"

"A chance?"

"One. Chance," he repeated balefully. "If you really want them back, then you must take my challenge," he stood aside to let her see out the window. The scenery had changed to an overlook of the Labyrinth with his castle nestled in the center. "I will let you run the Labyrinth. If you beat it in the 13 hours that I give you, then you can win your children back."

The woman, _Maureen_ his magic told him to his displeasure, looked at the twining Labyrinth for a moment before looking back at him. "And…what if I don't?"

"Then the kids are mine anyways."

She seemed to consider it.

"Do we have a deal?" he asked, gritting his teeth.

She looked back at him.

* * *

When the goblins returned with the children in hand, Moppet had quickly taken charge of them. She gave some goblins some easy orders (worded simply, to not confuse them), and although she had to threaten to set their king on them, they scattered with their orders. One helpful goblin handed her a rattle before wandering over to get some more ale. She handed the toy to the older girl, and sat down next to them.

"Who are you?" the boy finally asked.

"My name is Moppet," she answered, smoothing the front of her dress as she began to examine them discretely. They were showing signs of malnutrition, and the baby was looking a bit too pale for comfort.

"Are you the Goblin King?" the girl asked.

"Stupid, she's a girl," hissed her brother.

"I'm not the Goblin King."

"Told you."

"Shut up," she snapped back.

"…I'm his friend, and servant," she tacked on. The two children stared, surprised at her. "Anyway, what are your names?"

It took some time, but she finally dragged out of them their names: the boy was Daniel, the girl Ashley, and the baby was a little girl named Courtney. She had convinced them to eat some of the food that the goblins had returned with when Toby suddenly reappeared with the rest of the goblins following dutifully behind.

"Toby," she called standing quickly but paused.

Several of the brighter goblins where eyeing him cautiously. "Sire?" one asked, tugging on his pant leg.

He was uncharacteristically quiet as he waved them off. He headed out the room, not looking back, even when she called to him again.

"…who was that?" Daniel asked curiously.

"That was our king," she answered.

"Is he always like that?" Ashley asked, looking up from where she had tried to feed her younger sister.

"Of course not."

Moppet blinked and looked over her shoulder to see Hana flying quietly beyond her shoulder. "Hana?"

"What's up with Toby? And who are the kids?" the tiny fairy asked, glancing down at the wide eyed children. Stank snuck up and sniffed at Daniel rather loudly, surprising the boy.

"They were Wished away earlier," Moppet answered.

Hana blinked. "Oh. Well I guess that answers both questions then," she hummed. She glanced down at the kids then to the door where Toby had exited. "Hey, kiddo, why don't you go after him? Me and Stank can watch the kids for now."

Moppet glanced at her a moment before turning to the kids. "This is my friend Hana, you guys mind her, and I'm going to go talk to my friend, alright?" They nodded and she left quickly, an idea quickly forming in her brain of where Toby could be. She hurried out of the castle and to the town square. Sitting at a dusty fountain, Toby looked stoically down at his feet. "Toby?" she called to him as she got closer.

He glanced up at her. "Hey."

"Are you alright?" she asked, taking a seat next to him.

He looked at her a moment then back down at his feet. "I'm okay," he answered after a moment. She waited for him to go on but realized that conversation wasn't going to be a quick, shifted into a more comfortable position. Finally he spoke. "…how are the kids?"

"A little underfed and dehydrated. I'm more worried about the baby," she answered. "She'll have to see a real doctor soon, but her brother and sister are-"

"She's not going to run for them."

"What was that?" she asked, staring at him.

"She won't even _try_ to get them back," he stated, tone dead. "I could turn them into the stupidest, meanest, ugliest goblins, and she still wouldn't run for them."

She sat there, looking at him quietly before she haltingly laid her hand on his arm. "You don't have to change them, you know. They'd be better off here. We can always find places for them."

"…It made me sick. I never wanted to actually take a kid...How could anyone wish away their child?"

"She didn't know-"

"She was _older_ than Sarah; she was old enough to know better…" he murmured. "…Old enough to know better…"

"…" she paused. "We can take better care of them than she could."

He glanced at her hand.

"Things would have gotten worse for them. You're saving them, taking them away."

"…am I?" he asked quietly.

"Yes," she answered firmly, squeezing his arm. "Yes, and I can swear to you, they'll never have a better chance than with you."

He didn't reply; instead he gently placed his own hand on top of hers and gave it a tender squeeze. They sat like that for a while before he sighed and stood; when he looked back to her, his sunny smile was back in place. "Well, if we're going to look after them, I guess I better go meet them, right?"

She smiled softly and stood.


	5. Changes

And thus, we come to the real reason why I chose the first table of prompts.

**Prompt: "Owl"**

* * *

Since magic lessons with Mizumi were out of the question, (as if there was any doubt to why), Jareth had stepped up to continue teaching Toby. And while the idea had seemed exciting at first, he quickly learned that Jareth could be unusually hard on him (a certain episode of changing the color of lace with magic came to mind), so Sarah had taken it upon herself to sit in on the lessons, to keep Jareth from being too overbearing.

Today's lesson, however, promised something intriguing to Toby's excitement.

"As the Goblin King," Jareth began, "you should have realized by now that the owl is a symbol to …your throne." He paused at saying "mine" or at least "our". He shrugged past it and went on. "This isn't just a pretty little decoration—the Goblin King alone has the ability to change himself (or herself, whatever) into an owl."

Toby brightened enthusiastically. "_Awesome_."

"Lucky bum," Sarah teased. "He wouldn't teach me how."

Jareth rolled his eyes at her. "That's because you aren't Goblin Royalty."

"Wait, so if I had said yes before, I could be a bird already?"

"Changes everything, eh, sis?" Toby grinned.

"Twerp," she retorted fondly.

"Anyway," Jareth interrupted, glaring amused at them. "What I'm going to try and teach you today is how to assume that form."

"Alright," he said gleefully, rubbing his hands together. "What I do first?"

Jareth frowned at his interruption but didn't reprimand him; he seemed to catching the excitement too. "First, you have to center yourself and call on your magic."

"Center, then call," Toby repeated, shutting his eyes and doing as told. This was the easy part—magic, he found, was inherent in everything, it just took some coaxing. Forcing it to do as told, however, was another matter. Still, it came and settled in around him.

"Don't try and channel it through your surroundings," Jareth went on, his voice drifting lazily through Toby's daze. "Instead, draw it inward, let it fill you."

_That won't be too hard,_ he thought, remembering vaguely how it felt when he had formed hands to catch his friends when Drumlin attacked. Instead of focusing it into just his hands however, he let it flow elsewhere but tried to keep it from washing back out of him. Soon he felt delicious warmth from his head to his toes.

"He's glowing like a lantern," he heard Sarah whisper.

"He's supposed to," Jareth replied before turning back to him. "Now, Toby, the hard part—like I've told you before: forget your image."

"What?" Sarah asked, her voice piercing through the fog of magic around him.

"Shush, he'll lose his grip on the power if you don't," Jareth reminded her. "Toby, for this to work, you're going to have to change your whole form—that includes forgetting your own self and then your name."

_My name?_ But that was…so…_blasphemous_ in a way. It was his name! He couldn't just…could he? All around him, he heard the Labyrinth watching him curiously, like a concerned friend. He didn't dare comfort it though, not when he could feel the power slipping.

He sighed and tried to do as told. Forgetting what he looked like wasn't as hard as he thought—he rarely gave his outward appearance much thought unless confronted with a mirror. His name, however, was more troublesome. In a way, it had wedged itself into everything that was him (which he supposed was the whole point of forgetting it) and it was like a stranglehold on his very identity.

Finally, slowly, he began to forget. Slowly, he felt his identity, his name, slipping away from him.

"Take your new form," he heard his teacher say. "Picture the wings, the feathers, and the claws and it will come."

Wings? Feathers? Claws? He paused and called an image into his mind. Suddenly he felt himself shifting, shrinking. He opened his eyes to see two huge people towering over him. A man and a woman stared blankly down at him. Suddenly the woman began to giggle and the man cleared his throat.

"Ah…that wasn't bad," giggled the woman.

"How the hell did you manage to turn into a bloody chicken?" the man, his teacher, asked in surprise.

"_What?"_ he clucked, then looked at himself. What was wrong? He had feathers, wings, and claws!

"I said turn into an owl, not poultry," he huffed.

The woman was pressing her hands to her mouth to try and quiet down.

"Oh, for Titania's sake, turn back already."

_"How?"_

"You've first got to remember your true identity. Call your magic, and _forget _this form entirely," sighed the man.

_"Magic?"_

"Oh for-" he started again. "Sarah, help him out."

"How?" she asked moving to help him.

"Call on your magic and remember things about him to fix his old image in your mind—since this isn't his true form, he should pop right back."

He cocked his head to the side as the woman took him in her hands and closed her eyes. He was getting nervous when he began to feel some warmth emanating off her but then suddenly a name—Toby?—bloomed into his mind and he was a boy again.

"Phew!" Sarah whistled standing back. "That was harder than I thought."

He blinked at them. "What happened?"

"You turned into a chicken," Sarah teased him.

"What?"

"You must have misunderstood—though how you actually changed into a _chicken_ is beyond me," Jareth said, shaking his head at him.

"You're so full of surprises, Toby Jingles," Sarah giggled, giving him a one-armed hug.

"…why do I feel the intense urge to go eat some feed and worms?"

Sarah paused to look at Jareth. Jareth shrugged. "…that should wear off soon…until then, ignore it."

"Speaking of food, how about we go get some lunch, eh, guys?" Sarah tried, hustling her brother out of the room.

"No, seriously guys, it's a little creepy. I also feel like _preening._ This goes away, right?"

* * *

"And that's what happened," Toby finished, leaning back in his chair.

Moppet tried valiantly to contain her giggles.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. I'd like to see you turn into KFC tender crisps."

She ignored the "KFC" remark (whatever it meant) and smiled at him. "But I'm sure you made a…adorable bird, Toby." He groaned and tossed his arm over his eyes melodramatically. "Look at it this way, at least none of the goblins found you and tried to make you lunch."

He pulled his arm away to glare at her. "Not helping."

She giggled and tugged him over. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

He smirked playfully. "Better be," he muttered before leaning in to kiss her.

A knock at the door interrupted them. "Toby, come. You still need to practice," Jareth called through the door.

Sarah's voice joined him. "Hey, give him a minute," she said, earning their gratitude. "I mean, they never get a chance to properly make out anymore with you around."

All gratitude abruptly fled. Toby sighed and let his head flop onto Moppet's shoulder as she giggled while his sister and his teacher argued outside the door.


	6. Til the Sun Comes Up

This one and XXX made me feel dirty. And it's not even that porn-y!

**Prompt: "Sex"**

* * *

_It was late, well past midnight. Or did that make it early? Toby drowsily sighed and closed his eyes, letting Moppet gently stroke his hair as he rested his head on her thighs. He heard her giggle at him._

_"Toby?"_

_He smiled sleepily_. "Yes?"

"Toby?" He opened his eyes and glanced up at her. She looked down at him in amusement. "What naughty thing do you have in that crystal now?" she asked with a teasing grin.

Smirking lightly, he held the crystal up for her inspection.

"Toby," she smiled after a moment. "All that's showing is what we're doing now."

His smirk grew. "Dreams come true?"

She giggled at him and kissed his brow. "You're a shameless romantic."

"Hey, now was I the one that put rose petals all over the bed?"

"You did do the candle thing again," she retorted. When they had begun he had willed all the candles in the room to light themselves. He had thought it was neat.

"You don't like my candle trick?" he asked with a mock pout.

She leaned down to kiss his mouth. "Well, it is _kinda_ interesting."

He grinned and sat up to kiss her better. The kisses came faster and he eased her back onto the sheets. "Wanna go again?" he asked quietly into the side of her neck.

She wordlessly agreed.


	7. It's Not Easy Being Green

**Prompt: "Emerald Green Lace"**

* * *

"Concentrate, Toby," Jareth snapped.

"I'm _trying_," he hissed through his teeth, his hands shaking.

"Honestly, I know you can do better than _this."_

"Stop badgering him, or he'll never be able to concentrate," Sarah rebuked him, folding one leg over the other. "How can he when you keep yapping at him?"

Toby bit his lip and struggled with the magic beneath his fingers as it pulsed in rebellion.

"Well, he's going to have to use it with goblins running amok or someone's trying to take off his head—it'll be good practice."

He twitched and the magic tried to rebel again. He had to force it back before he could try finishing his task. Finally, he pushed his sister and the former Goblin King's voices aside and willed his magic to obey. Defiant to the last, it felt gave in and he laughed at his accomplishment. "I did it!"

"You did it?" Moppet repeated, pausing from handing Stank another biscuit.

"You did it," Sarah grinned triumphantly, like she was the one who had worked so hard.

"…no, you didn't," Jareth said after a minute.

"What?" Toby asked in despair, looking down at his work.

"I told you to turn it red—now it's green," Jareth explained, holding up a long scrap of emerald lace. "You'll have to do it again."

"Again?" he repeated in horror.

"Echo?" Stank asked, glancing around as everyone kept repeating each other. Moppet patted his head affectionately and tried to send a supporting smile at Toby.

"I think it's better green," Hana commented from her spot on Sarah's shoulder, (Sarah had been delighted to meet a fairy who wouldn't bite her, and Hana had been more than pleased to meet Toby's infamous older sister).

Sarah nodded. "Maybe you should try something else anyway," she suggested. "He doesn't really need to know how to change the color of _lace_, right?"

Jareth gave her a dark look, prompting her to go back to her cookie. "Just how is he supposed to work out the subtle nuances of grander spells if he can't turn a scrap of fabric red?"

"It looks red to me," Didymus announced. The others quietly let this comment pass since Didymus usually reacted poorly to being reminded of his colorblindness.

Toby sighed and glared at the fabric.

"Look, Toby, it's really not all that hard," Sarah tried and waved a hand at a stack of books near her. They quickly changed from blue to pink, red to mint, and green to purple. "See?"

He glared at her and began to grumble.

Jareth frowned as he looked at the books. "Those happened to be worth millions in Aboveground currency, Sarah."

She paused and then quickly reversed her spell, changing back to their original color. "Sorry. Didn't know."

Jareth gave her a knowing look, (prompting a "hey, no really!" from Sarah) and turned back to Toby. "Try again."

Toby sighed and moved his hands to hover over the scrap of (mocking) emerald green lace. _I liked it better when Mizumi taught me magic._

"I heard that."

"Stop reading my mind!"

"Stop making it so easy."

"Jar-_eth,_ lay off him."

"_You_, stop coddling him."

"I still say it looks red."


	8. Save a Life

**Prompt: "Child"**

* * *

If you were to ask Toby what he thought about his duties as Goblin King, he would tell you that they rang the gamut from mind numbingly easy to OH MY FRICKING GOD WHY DID I AGREE TO THIS hard. Talking to diplomats? Considering most of those he met were two faced, he didn't really mind—it gave him a chance to learn about new cultures from a native's point of view. Playing in the bizarre goblin version of polo? Pretty fun, it was exciting to be treated like a sports star now and then. Helping fumigate certain sections of the Bog of Stench? Disgusting, smelly, but it was nice talking to his subjects as he helped them clean a little. Kidnapping children that were wished away? He loathed it with a passion, but try as he could the duty was not one that he could ignore. It was the ancient duty of the Goblin King to take unwanted children and there was no weaseling out of it.

Listening to the "airing of the grievances" of his subjects though? He wanted to bash his skull in twelve minutes into the second account. Learning about his subjects' problems was insightful, however, goblins squabbled worse than dueling two year olds and bedlam soon overtook the throne room. Neighbors resorted to try and beat the ever-loving tar out of each other while they tried to tell to Toby what their problems were. More often or not, it was about someone taking something that may or may not belong to them (no one could remember who owned what most often).

Rubbing his brow, Toby began to understand why Jareth had given up the practice quickly after ascending to the throne. All the goblins wanted to do was fight, the moment he suggested (in some cases ordered) a solution, they usually pouted and left, grumbling. It all boiled down to a rather thankless job. Toby seriously considered calling the whole thing off and abandoning the practice himself when he was surprised to see two small _non-goblin _figures walk up to his throne.

"Daniel and Ashley, right?" he asked before the herald would scream (and what a high pitched voice he had, ouch) their names. The children had been the first children that had ever been wished to Toby and so far, the only ones much to his relief. The herald pouted but the children paid him no mind as they walked up to the throne. They hesitated, but then Ashley quickly pushed Daniel forward. "What can I do for you?"

"We, ah, need to ask for some help," Daniel finally explained.

"It's about our sister," Ashley added.

"Unless you've managed to start an argument with a baby, this is no place to come whining," Spittledrum interrupted. "NEXT!" The herald seemed more than eager to carry on, but Toby quickly intervened.

"Hold it, guys," he said quickly, lifting his hand to try and still them. "I'm supposed to listen to everyone's problems, right? And I want to hear what they have to say." He turned back to the siblings. "Okay, go ahead. What do you need?"

The pair glanced at each other uneasily, but Ashley prodded her brother to continue. "She's getting sicker…"

"Sicker?" Toby repeated. "Didn't she get taken to see a doctor when she came?"

"Well, we haven't had any money to go back."

"I see," he sighed. "Alright—I'll make sure that a doctor sees her immediately…would that help?"

They both eagerly nodded, relieved to hear his promise, but Spittledrum cut in. "Hey now, we can't just send every sick kid to the doctor every time they get a cold!"

Toby frowned. "Seeing as I-" he paused as the next words soured his mouth, "-took them, I think I should at least look after them until they're old enough to do it themselves." The kids, as he knew, were pretty independent as is, helping working in the kitchens or with the clean staff around the castle.

"That's no reason to just waste money to give them an excuse to slack off."

Toby raised his brows speculatively. "Well! I guess instead of using my own spending money to pay for the visit, the _city_ could spare the cash to send one little baby to the doctor's office?"

That abruptly put things in perspective for Spittledrum.

By the end of the week, Toby found himself overlooking a treaty with at least three advisors when a quiet knock interrupted them. Startled at the disruption, Toby called for a well deserved break and ordered the goblin guard to allow in the visitors while the advisors eagerly left to eat since they worked straight through lunch. As they left, Toby was surprised to see Moppet and a tiny, barrel shaped goblin, who he guessed to be a doctor, come in.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked, setting the documents aside to clear his desk.

"Toby, this is Herr Doctor Wilhelm … Wigglechin," Moppet explained, pausing as she struggled to remember the correct name. "He looked over Courtney, Daniel and Ashley's sister?"

"Oh, yeah, how is she…Herr Doctor?" Toby asked, glancing to Moppet to see if he had gotten the doctor's title correct. She shrugged.

Herr Doctor Wigglechin didn't seem offended if he had gotten it wrong at least. He removed his monocle to polish it liberally as he spoke. "I 'ave performed an extensive check up of the human babe Courtney," he announced in overly thick (and very fake sounding) German accent.

Toby and Moppet waited. "And…did you find anything?" he asked finally.

Herr Doctor blinked as if coming out of a doze. "I found, besides an ingrown toenail, that she 'as an infection. 'appens a lot in children who come from Aboveground, believe me."

Toby blinked. "What's that mean?"

"Oh?" Herr Doctor said blankly. "It means she's sick. My payment, if you please?"

"She's sick, that's all you're saying is wrong?" Toby said with wide eyes. "What did you give to treat it then?"

Herr Doctor stared at him. "Treat…it?"

"Yeah, you know…to make it better?"

He scoffed. "Take 'er to an apothecary if you want a cure—now, my payment?"

Toby and Moppet shared a rather disturbed look. They quickly took the baby to the apothecary (after paying the insistent Herr Doctor) who gave her some medicine with some overly specific directions. For the next few days, they watched as the baby began to fall sicker even quicker than before. Now goblins that didn't even know much about human children were recognizing that something was very off with little Courtney.

After taking her back to Herr Doctor, he announced that she was doomed. ("Payment please?")

Deciding that he had enough with the strange physicians of the Goblin City, Toby immediately called out to Sarah. It was strange that after all had happened, he still ran back to his sister for help.

Well, Sarah _and_ Jareth as it turned out.

It still took a Wish, (Sarah sacrificed a burnt roast in the good cause of Wishing Toby present, not that the goblins weren't happy to take it), but Toby arrived, wide eyed to see Jareth sitting quite comfortably next to his sister.

Before he had a chance to ask what the former Goblin King was doing on her couch, Sarah swept in and took Courtney from him. "Is this the –oh my."

Courtney, who never recovered her weight since before she came to the Labyrinth, looked ghastly inside her blankets. "Sarah, can you take her to a hospital?"

"I'll call an ambulance," she declared, handing the baby to Jareth as she hurried to the phone. "Why didn't you bring her here sooner?"

"The doctors in the Underground weren't any help, I called you as quick as I could," he defended, but still he couldn't help but worry that Courtney's illness was partially his fault.

Jareth surprised them both by quickly telling Sarah to stop. "Don't bother, Sarah," he called to her as she began to dial. Sarah and Toby turned to him with wide eyes. "This child's bound to the Underground; if you did take her to a hospital here, she'd be back in the Underground in an hour. She'll find no help there."

"But," she stuttered. "We can't just let her die!"

Jareth sighed and tucked the blanket closer to the shivering babe. "She's too weak to survive for much longer."

Defiant and desperate, Toby snapped at the former king. "Are you saying we just let her die then?"

"She doesn't have to," Jareth frowned at his successor's short tone. "As her King, you have the power to save her."

Toby's eyes went wide. "How?" Sarah asked before he could speak. "How's he supposed to save her life?"

Jareth paused. "You won't like what I have to say…"

"I don't care, help me save her," he barked.

"Alright," his predecessor sighed, "you have to turn her into a goblin."

"Jareth," Sarah hissed after a moment of shocked silence. "He is not going to turn her into a-a-"

"He _will_ if he wants to save her life," Jareth retorted.

"I am not-" Toby began but then Courtney began to cough weakly and he saw to his horror, spit up with flecks of blood. Jareth quickly used a tissue to wipe it up but without saying it, he knew his point was proven. If Toby wanted the baby alive, he'd have to change her and change her fast. "I—I don't even know _how."_

Jareth nodded for him to sit down before he handed her over. "I'll have to teach you then."

"You can't be—isn't there something else we could try for her?" Sarah asked, clenching and unclenching her hands.

"No," Jareth answered quickly before turning back to a pale Toby. "Do you want her alive or not?"

Finally, Toby nodded. "Show me how."

Magic still fought his control but for once, Toby found it rather receptive. Perhaps it had known why he needed it so desperately or maybe it was his desperation that gave him the power to bend the magic to his will. With Jareth's careful instructions, in a few minutes Toby held a goblin babe, however, the babe was a healthy one. Grateful and sickened all at once, Toby leaned back with the new goblin Courtney in his arms. Despite being a whole new species, there were features that were very similar to the human baby she'd once been.

Jareth sat next to Sarah with a regretful sigh. "I really should have taught you that one before, I suppose," he murmured.

"Why didn't you?" Toby asked, handing the squirming baby to Sarah.

Despite not being as cute as before, in human terms, Sarah did manage to smile gently down at the baby girl. Even as a goblin, she held the same charm as any baby and soon Sarah was cooing to her. Jareth watched all this with a distant look on his face. "I did not because, well, I hoped there wouldn't have been a need for it—or that you wouldn't abuse it."

"I can promise you, I _won't_," he retorted, exhausted and repulsed by the whole ordeal. He felt nearly as terrible as when he had taken the child. This time, he had stolen her humanity as well. _What am I going to say to Daniel and Ashley?_

"Why turn children anyway?" Sarah asked, frowning. "Why take them at all?"

"Goblins, as you've might have realized by now, Toby," he added to his heir, "do not breed well. Their bodies…aren't built for the stress or it's too hard on their bodies. Either way, more often than not, they either miscarry or give birth prematurely. Humans, on the other hand, breed fast. As Goblin King, I took in abandoned children too ill to survive, and turned them into goblin children. The vast amount of goblins, through out history, are Wished away children."

"The Lost Boys and Girls, huh?" Toby muttered, glancing at Courtney. "What should I do with her now?"

"Take her back and talk to Spittledrum about the list for goblin parents looking to adopt—the list never gets any shorter and any couple will be pleased to take her," Jareth advised.

Before he could ask for more help, he felt the distant tugging of the Labyrinth calling him back. He'd been gone too long already, so he quickly took Courtney back, said his thanks and goodbyes, and then abruptly left. It was very late when he arrived; Moppet was there to greet him along with Spittledrum and several other advisors. He turned to Spittledrum first. "I need to know whose next on the list for adopting a goblin child," he said, bypassing any greetings to present the goblin babe in his arms. While many of them goblins looked excited to see a new child to join their ranks, Spittledrum grumbled at the extra work. Handing the child off to one of the advisors, he gave them directions and they disappeared to do as he said.

Sighing tiredly, he nearly collapsed back onto the couch in his office and pressed his face into his hands with a groan.

"Toby?" Moppet began, speaking at last.

He removed his hands to see her take a seat next to him. "Yeah?"

"Are you…you don't look well."

"I…don't really feel well actually," he admitted, letting his elbows rest against his knees so he could slouch. "I…I know this would only be…could you just…stay here for a little bit?" he asked quietly. "I just really…don't want be by myself just yet."

"Okay," she promised, reaching out to grasp his hand. "I'll stay."

He squeezed it and sighed. "Thanks, Moppet."

"Why don't you rest your eyes?" she suggested after a long pause.

He nodded, shifting so he lay on the arm of the couch. His hand almost slipped out of hers but she leaned to his side so she wouldn't lose her hold. After a few more moments of silence, she saw he drifted off to sleep.

She remained well past sunrise.


	9. Chapel of Love

**Prompt: "Church"**

* * *

_Today_, Moppet marveled to herself, _is the Big Day_. After all, it wasn't everyday that a Goblin King got married; that fact alone warranted the capital letters in her mind, although she kept it to herself. Not only was it a big day, it was a busy day too—no sooner had herself and Toby arrived, Sarah ordered Toby to find Jareth and then whisked Moppet away to get ready. Moppet mused that while Sarah usually complained about having to spend all day sitting around while being made-up, her future sister-in-law secretly enjoyed it.

Speak of the devil and he shall come—no sooner had Moppet thought about her when Sarah stuck her head into the bathroom. "Sorry, thought it was empty."

"That's alright, I'll be out in a moment anyway," Moppet assured her. "Just needed to put my earrings in." She held up the dangling earrings to emphasize her point.

"Need some help?" she asked, stepping in.

"Yes, actually."

"Here." Sarah took them from her and began to work them in, one earring at a time. "Jesus, these are stubborn."

"Yeah," Moppet murmured.

Sarah grinned at her before putting the other earring in. "You excited?"

"Yes," she confessed, trying not to giggle.

Not that it did much good—a wave of giddiness overtook Sarah and quickly infected Moppet too. They had to grip each other's arms to keep from bouncing up and down in place as they giggled. One of them began to sing "Married, married," repeatedly, (neither would admit as to who actually sang it), until someone banged at the door to flush them out.

Reluctantly, they abandoned the bathroom, which both had admittedly gone to hide in, and were captured by Linda, Sarah's mother, and Irene to apply some finishing touches. Sarah's phone started to ring and Moppet gratefully snatched it up while one of the bridesmaids began to whine while Linda tried to tame her hair. Rolling her eyes, Moppet stuck her finger in the other ear and tried to wander to the least populated corner in the kitchen. "Hullo?"

"Moppet?" It was Toby.

"Oh, hi. Did you need something?"

"Just checking in—you guys nearly done?"

"Nearly—we have one last bridesmaid for hair and we already have Ashley in her dress." Ashley, as well as her brother Daniel, was in the wedding as the flower girl and ring bearer respectively since there were really no other children to fill the spots. "How are you guys?"

"Just picked up the last groomsmen vest. We'll be at the church in a bit to step up whatever's left over—you guys heard from the caterers yet?"

"Hold on—have we heard from the caterers?" Moppet asked Irene.

"Yes, everything's all set up at the hall," Irene answered before focusing in on the phone. "Is that Toby?" Moppet simply handed the phone over so she could talk to her son. While Irene was busy on the phone, Moppet observed Linda mercilessly finish up the last bridesmaid's hair.

When the woman finished she glanced up to see Moppet and made a theatrically sigh to her amusement. "Oh, dear, come here for a moment," she said, gesturing Moppet forward. "You got some loose hair, let me pin it up."

Although very wary of Linda's precisely cruel hands, she let Sarah's mother pin the hair back. When she finished, she gently patted and tucked in remaining strays in place before she smiled with that dreamy smile at Moppet. "You really could be Sarah's younger sister, you know, I'm still so shocked."

To be compared to the Illustrious (albeit very harried at the moment) Sarah was a high compliment in the Goblin City, but it was still a bit unnerving to be called as such by the great Sarah's mother. Moppet gave her a weak smile before Irene called her back over to take the phone.

"So, you excited?"

Moppet smiled. "Your sister just asked me that."

"That's cause we all want to know. We all love you, you know."

"Suck up," she teased.

"Well, I'd rather suck on—oww, hey, knock that off!"

Moppet raised a brow, forgetting he couldn't see the gesture. "What happened?"

"Jareth—I'll hit on my fiancée as much as I want, thank you—hey, I'm trying to drive here!"

Moppet laughed. "I'll let you go before you drive off the road." She cupped her hand to the receiver to try and steal what little privacy she could. "I love you."

"Love you too. See you there." He hung up.

"Alright, guys, let's get this show on the road!" Sarah crowed. Moppet shut the phone and handed it to Sarah before hurrying to grab her dress.

They had to use a side entrance to get into the church and then rush to the dressing room doors, lest the groom spot them before the ceremony (Moppet understood it to have something to do with bad luck, but really she didn't get it). The dressing room, which had seemed roomy a minute ago, suddenly shrunk as everyone piled in. Dresses were fought on with Irene's help and Linda applied make-up. Moppet was first done so she joined Ashley as she waited in a chair, pumping her legs back and forth.

"How much longer?" the little girl asked as soon as Moppet popped next to her.

"Few more minutes—Sarah's mom's finishing up Sarah right now, then we'll be ready."

"I wish _I_ had some make-up," Ashley pouted.

"What was that?" Irene asked, sidling up next to them.

"She wants to be made-up too," Moppet explained.

Irene paused for a moment before rooting around in her purse. She pulled out a tube of lipstick and lip liner. "It is for the wedding," she smiled to them before carefully apply the cosmetics to the excited girl's mouth. "That's a lovely dress by the way, darling."

Moppet smiled and smoothed out the front, her hands brushing lightly over the tiny seed pearls. "I love the little designs on it."

Any more conversation was abruptly cut off when Linda announced for them to get in their places. Irene led Ashley out and Sarah grabbed Moppet's hand as the exited the room to head to the front of the church.

"Don't trip," Sarah teased lightly.

"Good luck to you too," Moppet answered but squeezed her hand before she fell in line.

As they neared the doors to the front, Robert appeared to lead the bride down the isle. He spared her a smile nervously when the music started up. Ashley and Daniel started to walk, and then the first bridesmaid went. Moppet took a deep steadying breath then she too began the long walk down the isle.

It was slightly terrifying with so many eyes on her as she followed the bridesmaids. She felt her heart flutter as she saw Toby, along with Jareth and the other groomsmen, smiling up near the altar. She smiled briefly at him before she took her place as Maid of Honor. Then Wedding March began on the massive set of organs and everyone turned to watch Sarah on the arm of her father. She felt giddy for a moment as Robert gave Sarah to Jareth, but contained herself as she watched her former king and future sister-in-law take their places in front of the priest. She glanced over to Toby to see if he was perhaps as nervous as her only to find he was staring back.

They didn't look away until the end of the ceremony.


	10. I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker

**Prompt: "Guitar"**

* * *

The Goblin King was a stationary sort of job—unless called upon by someone wishing away others, he was supposed to remain in the Underground to keep watch of his subjects. This did not mean that the Goblin King couldn't leave his kingdom every now and then to venture upward. Beltane, along with the other festivals dealing with the sun, was one time where the veil between the Under and Aboveground thinned to a flimsy membrane, easily bypassed by those with enough power and will. It only took Toby two years to build enough power to punch through to the other side; when he left, he took Moppet with him, to meet his family at long last.

Dressed to blend in with everyone else, they slipped out of the alleyway they had arrived in, hand in hand. "Now _that_ is the only way to travel," Toby chuckled as he led her out.

Moppet smiled indulgently. "So, when do I get meet everyone else?"

"Oh, first we'll meet up with Sarah, and then we'll—oh, shoot," he grumbled.

She raised both brows as he glared at sign that displayed the time before switching over to some ads. "What's wrong?"

"Miscalculated the time; Sarah or my folks won't be home for at least an hour or two," he sighed, but then perked up. "Guess this means we got some free time. How about we look around?"

"And shop?" she asked as he began to led her down a sidewalk.

He groaned. "But we just _went_ shopping before we left…"

"But I've never shopped up here before," she argued, tugging on his arm. "C'mon, you can still show me around."

"Well…"

She paused then smirked. "You could show me your favorite stores and maybe even…" she bent forward to whisper into his ear.

As he listened, any misgivings or objections he had abruptly vanished. "Well, when you put it _that_ way," he grinned. "Let's go."

They shopped and wandered around for the good part of an hour and a half before Toby remembered Sarah should have been home at least. Moppet, however, wasn't quite ready to give up her little shopping spree. "One more?" she pleaded, tugging him along. "You can pick even."

She giggled at his pout but he quickly brightened. "Hey, the music store! Haven't been there in ages."

"Well, let's go to that one then," she suggested.

He nodded and hurried with her into the store. It was his turn to smile at her reaction; the racks and shelves of CDs, stereos, magazines, and then the instruments that hung up around the store amazed her. He had introduced her and many of the goblins to CDs and stereos not long after arriving in the Goblin City, but then he only had the beat up stereo, handful of CDs, and some batteries that Sarah managed to send him every now and then. Moppet drifted away to admire the instruments while Toby flipped through some magazines.

Upon the walls, a varied selection of instruments from guitars to a lone accordion delighted her eyes. Certainly there was such instruments in the Underground, but the designs were different, the sounds more wild. As she wandered towards the back of the story nearing the displays of drums, she stumbled upon a guitar that caught her eye.

Black and polished to near mirror like, she read the little card next to it naming its brand and make. Glancing about to see if anyone was spying, she reached up and plucked at a string. The low hum made her smile, childishly delighted by the simple reaction. She plucked at another string and smiled at that sound as well. She became so engrossed with gently picking at the strings, she never noticed Toby sliding up next to her.

"Oh, nice pick," he commented, startling her. "Having fun?"

She blushed at being caught playing with it. "I just thought it sounded good."

"A Gibson Les Paul?" he remarked, glancing at the display card. "Yeah, that would." He paused to whistle, staring at the price tag. "Quite a steal too."

She smiled but raised a brow at his lie; she may have not known a thing about Aboveground currency, but she knew one of his lies when she heard it.

He raised his eyebrows in return. "What?" She shook her head at him but didn't chide him for his fib. "Do you want it?"

She considered it. "I don't know how to play though." He smirked and to her surprise, began to play a small ditty by quickly strumming. "You never told me you knew how to play!"

He had the decency to blush. "I had violin lessons when I was young and Sarah had a guitar. She took it with her to college and I didn't play for the longest time…" he drifted off in his narration, then shook his head and returned to the present. "I could teach you if you want."

She perked up. "Would you?"

He grinned. "C'mon, let's pick up the case and buy this baby."

As they waited at the register, Moppet leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Thank you," she whispered into his ear.

He grinned. "If I knew you'd react this way, I'd have bought one sooner."

She glared but grinned at him.


	11. Follow You Into the Dark

Warning—Dark AU; this chapter does not follow the other chapters' shared storyline.

I would have posted this earlier but was a dick and wouldn't let me upload anything! Oh, better late than never.

**Prompt: "Letter"**

* * *

_Dear Toby,_

_It's been very strange since 'The Mutiny' as the goblins have taken to calling it; I hardly know where to begin describing it all. I've tried to write to you before but each time I find myself driven to tears. Everything has gone so wrong! Shortly after Mizumi took over, she tossed Master Spittledrum straight out of the Goblin City (to make sure he didn't try to rally the goblins together). Any of the goblins loyal to you were either banished or killed on the spot. Most goblins just accepted her take-over, even Candlewic. Oh Toby, I don't know if you knew how much I liked him but I was so dismayed over his acceptance, I actually fled and hid. I couldn't stand up to her, so I don't imagine why I thought he could but_

_Oh, no, I'm crying again. I ruined the last two letters by staining the pages with them but I will not abandon this copy too._

_I don't know why I'm so set on writing to you anyway. It's not like you will ever read this letter but…_

_Toby, so many things went wrong when you … I can't find Hana. She just disappeared, like you. I keep Stank with me; he's so confused and lonely without her and I can't do a thing to help him. He just hides and whines, sometimes looking around for her. I'm hiding out in the Junkyard. A lot of us are—Ludo, your sister's friend, helps smuggle to the Bog to join Sir Didymus and Hoggle. People so fear Mizumi, they actually willingly go to the Bog of Eternal Stench! Oh, Toby, I wish you could come back. We all need you so very much, I_

_Toby, I… did you see what I wrote earlier, about goblins either accepting Mizumi or get banished or killed? Well, I'm afraid…Oh, Toby, I'm so sorry but Skub… He was always so impressed by you, he admired you so! When she ousted you, he tried to fight her and she…she…oh, I don't know how close you two really were, I only saw you talking to him now and then, but Toby, I just can't even write down what she did._

_I wish you were here. I wish everything could just go back to how it was…_

_I've heard that Hoggle's been trying to contact your sister, to get her to help us. Would she though, even if they could talk to her? Some people even suggested calling to Jareth, although I have no idea what he could do, being powerless and all._

_The raids has started again—after Mizumi took over, we either all accepted her or fled. She's trying to recapture us to swear our loyalty or get rid of us. Candlewic leads some of the raids and it breaks my heart to see him each time._

_I'll never swear loyalty to her—I refuse to be her subject. I'd rather die._

_…if I did die, could I join you Toby? I know we didn't get that close but…maybe I'm just pining away after this made-up image I have of you but…_

_I would give anything to have my friend back. Have I gone mad, writing this letter to someone who will never answer?_

_Toby…the Raids strike deeper each day…if this is the last time I might have a chance to say_

* * *

Hoggle frowned at the abrupt ending of the letter, forever hiding the identity of whoever the writer was. Ludo had found it clutched in the paws of one of his brethren, the small Rock Caller refused to relinquish the letter even as the rest of him went limp. It had been difficult to comfort Ludo over the death of the tiny cub but the older Rock Caller finally let them remove the body for burial. Hoggle had taken the letter when he spotted it in his hands, hoping that maybe it had contained some news but there was nothing in it that he hadn't already knew—Toby was dead, Mizumi was Queen, Candlewic lead some of the Raids.

Still, he couldn't bring himself to toss the letter away. It was almost a memorial to whoever had written it, obviously now deceased. He could relate to the sorrow and desperation he could feel from the writing and from the tears that stained the page. Finally, he slipped the letter into his pocket, where it would be safe. He promised himself that he would say a prayer later for the writer, for the little Rock Caller, and for whoever Skub, Stank, and Hana was that the writer had mentioned. He hoped that whatever had happened to them, that maybe if they were all gone, maybe they could be with each other at last, like the writer had wished.


	12. Take a Bow

This is arguably the prompt that has left me scratching my head the most. Also, about the chapter title—all the titles have to do with songs. This title "Take a Bow" can refer either to the Madonna song or the Rihannna song. Both inspired this chapter and both could work with it. Just a fun factoid for you. (Can you guess what songs the other chapter titles refer to?)

Another fun factoid—there's a Dark Crystal reference in here.

Oh, yeah, this takes place before the first chapters! So this should be the first chapter in chronological order. (Maybe I'll post a timeline version on my livejournal...would that help people much?

**Prompt: "A box of tissues"**

* * *

It was strange; her room was exactly was as it had always been before, but Moppet couldn't help but feel that the room felt…different now. Foreign, alien, just strange; was this really the same bed she had slept in for so long? Did that window also show the same view? With things around her having changed so much recently, she would have thought that her room would have felt more familiar, like a worn shoe, aged from use but contoured to her.

_I've outgrown it_, she decided. What else could explain it? There was something fundamental off in some way about the room, and since her room itself hadn't changed, it had to be her that did. And in a way, she had outgrown it. Toby had invited her to live at the castle now, as his friend and advisor. _Toby_ and _friend_ felt sure and more factual in a way that her room did not anymore. But really, she just didn't need this room anymore. Spittledrum had all but tossed her out of it, (something about being a traitor? He hadn't taken not getting to be the real ruler very well), so in a way this made the move simpler. In fact, she itched to leave.

_But first, my things_. At least Spittledrum had let her back in to collect her things. She began to look around for anything she might want to take. She wouldn't need the bed or the blanket but she decided to toss whatever she wanted to take on the quilt to haul her things in. First thing she thought to take was her alarm clock that still stood faithfully on her nightstand. But then again, would she really need one? If anything there would probably more than enough clocks at the castle. In fact, on looking around twice, there really wasn't much else to take. After a moment, she placed the clock on the quilt for no reason that she could name.

Very things followed it however; a tin of make-up, some extra handkerchiefs, and then the fine dress and shoes she had worn once at the party. She didn't have much in her wardrobe here and Toby had promised to provide any clothes she would happen to need (most of the lovely dress that Drumlin had destroyed had been salvaged at least, in fact she was wearing one now). She added the few books and knick knacks she had squirreled away. That still didn't amount to much.

There was only one thing else left.

With a sigh, she finally turned to really look at the wall on the far side of the room. Or at least at least, at the posters on it. She never really had enough spending money to buy as many posters as she had wanted once, but now she was glad she hadn't covered the walls with the face of the treacherous Candlewic.

Even now, she felt a twinge of admiration for the once glorious knight of the realm. But after what had happened…well, she doubted Toby, Hana, or even Stank would approve of his pictures in the castle, even if she had wanted to put them there. She faced the posters with mixed feelings.

Candlewic had been her first love, without a doubt. He had been the hero of all her adolescent (but then, she couldn't remember a time when she hadn't looked like this) daydreams, always the charming Knight in Shining Armor. She had imagined a love to rival that of Jen and Kira, (she had no idea why the two names together amused Toby so much, but he promised to tell her later), but now, looking at the posters, she felt that those dreams where shallow and foolish.

She had felt so crushed that night he practically rejected her without a word, the night of the celebration when Jareth had named Toby his successor. And then over the next times when she would meet him, how he was always so rough on Toby as they trained. And then later when he…she shuddered. She felt the irrational urge to reach up and tear them up, as if to destroy any evidence that she could be so nearsighted.

But then, another thought hit her before she could grip the paper: _weren't all first loves nearsighted and shallow to a degree?_ She paused to consider it. If you never fell in love before, wasn't it the first time you really did the one that opened your eyes. Wasn't the pain and joy supposed mean something more important then memories you tried to bury later?

It made her wonder what Sarah would say. Sarah, her what? Her reflection, her other half, her something? Toby said she looked like her but what she mean to her other? Thinking of Toby, she wondered if he would have anything to say about it.

Finally, she reached up and gently pulled the paper and tape away from the wall. She folded the pictures up and placed them discretely in the waste bin. She wouldn't take her with her, but she couldn't find the anger to tear them up again. She looked down at them for a moment when she heard the knock a knock at the door.

"Yes?" she asked, feeling a bit strange inviting someone into a room that didn't even feel like hers anymore.

Toby stuck his head in the door. "All done yet?"

She smiled. "Yes, actually," she said, pointing to the pile on the bed.

"Awesome, let's go then—Spittledrum's giving me dirtier looks every second I'm here."

"He did pretty much the same to me," she admitted as he pulled the corners of the cover up and together to make an oversized sack. "You don't have to carry that."

He grinned. "Course I don't, but I want to help anyway. Besides, it gives something I can hide behind if Spittledrum feels like trying to take a chunk out of me."

She giggled at him and joined him as they left. They had walked to her old home and now they had decided to walk back as well.

"You do have everything in here right?" he asked.

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, just seemed kinda light is all," he huffed, and gave the 'sack' a tug to raise it on his back.

"Are you sure? You seem a bit…winded."

He rolled his eyes and she tried not to laugh at him. They walked in companionably silence for awhile before she remembered her musings back in her old room.

"Toby, may I ask a question?"

"You mean may you ask _another_ one?" he corrected her with a grin, despite her un-amusement with the comment. "Okay, okay, fire away!"

She raised a brow at the odd phrase but chose not to comment on it. "What do you think about your first love?"

He blinked bemusedly at her. "What, you mean like what I think of her?"

"More or less."

"Ah, jeez, pick the awkward subject…"

"You don't have to answer if you don't-"

"No, it's okay; just kinda surprised, s'all. Okay, let's see, my first love…" he trailed off, looking upward as if his memories lay in the clouds. She noticed he did that a lot. "My first love was in kindergarten."

"What's kindergarten?" she asked, frowning. The only thing that came to mind was a jail but who found their first love in prison?

"Oh, you guys probably wouldn't call it that here," he admitted. "It's kinda like…okay, in school you know how there's different grades, or years, or something? Well, kindergarten is below the first grade or year or whatever you have here. It's almost like day care really, but little kids learn about the alphabet and like numbers and stuff."

"And you found your first love there?" She couldn't help but smile at the mental image of young Toby making doe eyes like she had once.

"Oh yeah. We even held hands at nap time and shared our cookies. That's like big time commitment when you're five," he nodded seriously. Or at least she assumed seriously. "Christy Summers was her name. She had pigtails and big blue eyes if I remember her right. She moves away in the second grade. I was heartbroken."

"Ahh," she cooed. "But that's still so sweet."

"Yeah well, that's how it goes," he replied, tugging on the sack again. "What brought this on, anyway?"

"Oh…just…something I thought of while cleaning up," she explained, remembering the posters, neatly folded and tucked away in the trash bin.

"Well, there's one thing I must say."

She looked curiously at him. "What's that?"

He grinned. "Getting over your first love and falling in love with your second? So much better."

She mulled the words over in her mind and finally smiled. "I suppose…you're right."


	13. Daughters

This one's a little strained in relation to the prompt. Work with me here, people.

Also NICU: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit; most preemies and ill babies are brought here. And I, ah, took some creative license with the size of the throne.

**Prompt: "Massage"**

* * *

Ever since they had started to "see each other" (as Hana called it), Toby and Moppet had taken to sitting on the throne together. Toby had always felt too small, like a little child, while sitting on the throne. If he had to sit there, he ended up lounging before long, legs usually hanging off the arm. Now with Moppet, it didn't feel quite so big. He would still lounge on it and she would tuck herself behind his legs and they would chat about anything or everything while goblins happily ran amok around them.

Today, he had overslept and found her lounging in his throne, waiting for him with a book in her lap. He smiled in greeting as he jumped up to sit on the arm behind her, careful not to step on the cushion she had put beneath her. "Morning," he said.

"I was wondering if Skub was going to let you sleep in much longer—he's had breakfast waiting for you," she told him, scooting over so he could sit cross legged next to her.

"I grabbed a bite to eat from the table," he explained.

She raised a brow at him. "I hope you'll at least eat his lunch—it makes him sad when you skip his meals."

"I'll go talk to him in a bit," he promised. "He'd like me visiting _more_, right?"

She affectionately rolled her eyes up at him and bookmarked her page while he ran his knuckles across her cheek. She smiled at the tender action and moved to kiss him when he suddenly hissed. "Toby? What's wrong?"

He pressed a hand to his chest but didn't answer—he didn't need to. The goblins suddenly went wild around them. She instantly realized that someone had made a Wish. She gently pressed a hand over his while he gave her a pained look. With a sigh, he nodded to the excited goblins and disappeared with them.

He was surprised to find himself in a hospital, of all places, right outside the nursery actually judging from the large window that displayed the babies inside. In front of the window, a small, rather harried young woman looked in at one child in particular. _Leanne,_ his magic told him her name. He sniffed in disgust and nodded to the goblins at his side. He willed the lights to die inside the room and in the hall around them. Leanne, the Wisher, glanced about before looking behind her to where he stood, arms crossed.

"Are you…are you the Goblin King?" she asked quietly.

"Got it in one," he answered brusquely.

She shied at his stern tone. "…have you…come to take her?"

"You did wish her away."

She paused for a moment before looking back at her daughter.

To his surprise, Leanne lunged at him. He stepped back, nearly running into the wall as she caught the front of his jacket. "Let me go!"

"Can you save her?" she asked, ignoring him. "Will she be okay if she goes with you?"

He frowned at her, then glanced at the baby. The goblins were waiting for his specific sign before they snatched her away. On his second glance, he suddenly realized that he was _not _in front of a nursery—he was in front of the NICU, and that the baby was wired up with tubes and do-dads that he didn't pretend to understand. "…you Wished her away to…" he looked back down at her. "…the only way to save her…is to turn her into a goblin."

The Wisher's eyes widened but she didn't reply for a moment. "…but…can you really save her?"

"…yes," he answered. "But do you understand-"

"As long…" she began, interrupting him. "As long as she's okay…then please…take care of her."

He stared at her for a long moment when an alarm went off. He and Leanne looked up to see that her daughter's heart had suddenly flat lined. Thankfully, one of the goblins seemed to understand what this meant and quickly thumped the bottom of the babe's foot. The heart began again and Toby made a mental note to reward that goblin somehow. He looked down to see Leanne's tortured face, still watching the heart monitor.

"…I was in a car accident," she began. "I was okay but I went into labor…two and a half months too soon." She started to cry. "The doctors say she's fading …she's my only child…her father's not in the picture, and I can't afford to keep up with the medical bills for much longer. So please…" Toby's frown softened as she spoke. "Please…save my Emily."

Toby crouched down and gently pried her fingers from his clothes as she sniffled. He softly gripped her shoulders. "If I take her, you'll never see her again."

"But then…she'll just die here…" she said, looking at him for confirmation. He slowly nodded. Her face crumpled. "Please…I'll do anything if she lives…anything."

He sighed quietly. "Alright then," he said. He gestured for the goblins to begin carefully freeing her from the life support systems. As they worked he turned back to Leanne. Frowning at the unfairness of it all, he summoned a crystal and put in her hands.

She looked in confusion at it. "What is it?"

"Just a crystal, nothing more," he recited. "But, turn it this way and-"

Leanne let out a cry; inside the crystal, an image bloomed, revealing her heart's greatest desire. Toby stood and looked once more at the unfortunate Wisher in front of him before nodding to the goblins that it was time to go. Calling on his magic, they vanished and reappeared in the throne room.

Moppet stood instantly to greet him and he noticed little Ashley and Daniel at her side. Hana and Stank stood by too, Spittledrum was also there; he ignored them. "Where's Emily?"

A goblin quickly handed her to him; without the life support systems, he could feel her drifting away. He hurried to cast the spell to turn her into a goblin, praying he was not too late. For a moment, he watched in detached disgust as she changed and then he waited for a sign. Finally, she began to cry and he allowed himself to relax. He sighed and sank upon his throne, still cradling the tiny goblin babe in his hands.

"Toby?" Moppet tried.

He shook his head and turned to see that most of the goblins had returned to their previous activities they had been engaged in before they left. However, one goblin, the one that had restarted little Emily's heart, remained and watched the baby with hopefully eyes. "Yes…" he paused. "Debran?"

The goblin started to hear his name. Debran bowed and moved a bit closer to the baby. "S'it going to be okay, your highness?"

"She will indeed," he answered.

Debran relaxed, his shoulders easing down as he sighed. "Ah, your sire-ship-sir," Toby blinked at the odd title. "Me and my missus," he paused to look as another goblin, Marnbur Toby remembered, waddled up in a hurry, "we've been…um…we was…"

"We's been wanting a baby of our own," Marnbur finished for him.

Toby blinked as he remembered that goblins weren't very fertile. Most didn't have children naturally, and usually the children who were wished away were given to a couple who wanted one. Daniel and Ashley's own sister had been adopted in a likewise arrangement. Toby glanced to Spittledrum. He nodded eagerly at him; this couple apparently was one that was on the list to receive a child. "I think it could be arranged."

The look of happiness on their faces almost made everything worth it. Marnbur eagerly reached out to sooth the still-fussing babe. "Can I hold her?"

Toby handed her over. "Her name's Emily," he told them, although he doubted it would remain her name for long. Marnbur and Debran were completely taken with the child and sat down immediately to coo and fuss over her.

Smiling a bit that at least Emily was going to be well loved, he turned to Moppet and Spittledrum. "Can we get the papers drawn up soon?"

They both nodded and Moppet gently pulled the children away from her. "I'll go get them now. We can it all settled in an hour if we hurry."

He nodded and stood. "Let's get to it then," he paused to glance at the children.

Daniel and Ashley seemed to have taken to their new lives rather well but he was curious to see their reactions; Daniel seemed curious to share his sister curiosity about the child but Toby could see a glimmer of unease—he still held misgivings due to his youngest sister's similar fate.

"Why don't you guys go say hi?" he suggested, startling Daniel.

"Can we?" Ashley asked.

"Hana, can you look after them?" he asked, looking to his friend.

She nodded. "No sweat," but then added, "but that doesn't make me your babysitter, got it?"

"Got it," he grinned as they hurried over. "Spittledrum, can you get their files for review?" When the mayor nodded, Toby turned back to Moppet and nodded. She led the way to his office, becoming curiously quiet.

As they began to sign the papers, she finally spoke. "How was it?"

"I hated it," he answered with relish as he carefully signed a paper. He paused, one page half turned in his hand. "She was a preemie—premature baby. Born nearly three months too early. That's why she's so tiny."

"I didn't know babies could survive being born like that," she commented. "That's half the reason goblins have such a hard time breeding."

"Doctors and medicine can save them," he explained. "But she…she just couldn't handle it much longer…"

"So her family wished her away?" Moppet guessed.

He finally flipped the page and rested. "Her mother couldn't save her, couldn't pay for any more treatment even if it could work." He was quiet for a long time. "I gave her a crystal."

"You did?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. There was no rule that said the Goblin King had to give "consolation prizes" to any of the Wishers; when they wished the child away, it became his until they could win the child back.

"I saw her dream," he went on. "…it was such a simple dream. Wasn't much to it. Just her and her baby. Her and her healthy, happy baby. She could have dreamed for anything else too, but that's all she wanted…."

Moppet reached out and took hold of his hand. "She does have part of her wish then. Her child is healthy…and with those goblins, she'll be happy too."

He sized and twisted his hand to hold hers. "I know…I know."

She squeezed his hand and he squeezed back.


	14. So Close

The chapter in which I fulfill the obligatory High school AU duty…and it will, ah, be a two-parter.

Also, see if you can spot all the "Teen Titan" cameos I put in here—from the comics, not the movie. Names only though.

**Prompt: "Party"**

There is one, well one of many, problems about living in a small town: everyone knows everyone. Now, some people would consider this a great benefit for living in a small town, but fact was not only did everyone know you, they knew _everything_ about you. Especially those dirty little secrets you didn't want getting out. Everyone knew when someone was a drunk, or violent, or cheating on their spouse. And while skipping on going to the Halloween Masquerade and hiding in his bedroom would have made for a more fun evening, while mild in comparison to the earlier examples. Toby doubted his presence would please his mother at least (who worried about appearances).

Or at least, that's what he kept trying to tell himself as he leaned back against the cool cement blocks of the gym's back wall. He crossed his arms to cushion the back of his head and watched most of his classmates dancing before him. Bart, his last buddy, had finally ditched him to join their other friends, leaving Toby to brood alone.

_"You know what you're problem is?" Bart asked, poking his side. "You have all this crappy luck. Even if you pretended to be a bad boy to impress them, you'd still manage to embarrass yourself anyway."_

_"Jeez, way to cheer up a guy there," he grumbled back._

_"Hey man, just telling the truth."_

"Yeah," he sighed, distractedly looking up at the starry cut outs hanging from the gym rafters. "I'd never impress anyone anyways…"

"Talking to yourself now?" Toby glanced down to see Bart and two other friends, Stephanie and Tim, walk over to him. "Should we call up the loony bin people to come getcha?"

"Whatever," he grunted.

"Oh, Williams gets back with a zinger!" Tim teased.

"Why don't you go get some drinks?" Stephanie suggested frostily, emphasizing her point by bumping her hip into his. Tim, her boyfriend, pouted but turned to leave. "Don't mind them, Toby; they're just mad they won't be getting 'any' later."

Toby stifled a chuckled but Tim turned back around, taken aback. "I _won't?"_

She gave him a dark look. "Not if you lay off and get those drinks."

"Oh," laughed Bart, shambling over to Tim. "Come on, lets get those drinks before she gets out her scissors and makes you a soprano. And I don't mean the Mafia kind."

Stephanie turned back to Toby, rolling her eyes exaggeratedly at their antics. She tried to smile reassuringly at him. "How's it going, Toby?"

"Oh, it's like how it is at every dance…"

"That bad, eh?" she asked, leaning against the wall at his side.

He laughed dejectedly.

"Well…maybe if you tried to dance for once…" she started to suggest as he turned his head to give her the stink eye. "Instead of skulking in the shadows."

"Oh, well that sounds _so much_ better," he retorted.

"If you gave it a try, you might just like it—besides, it's not like you can't dance," she insisted. "I've seen you dance for our plays, so you can't deny it."

"Well, yeah but-"

"Oh, get the hell out there before I kick you out there," she ordered, shoving him.

"But…the drinks…" he said, doing his best to sound wounded, however he ruined it by grinning a second later as she tried to slap at him. "Ah, okay, okay, I'm going!"

"And don't come back til you dance for awhile," she called after him.

He chuckled to himself as he walked away but as he got closer to the dancing, his amusement abruptly died. In front of him, the spastic song ended and a slow one came on to his horror. He looked back over his shoulder to see if he could escape back to his hiding place but Stephanie glared daggers at him. Reluctantly, he looked around for a partner but his bad luck kicked in and there wasn't a free girl to be found. Glancing around a bit more hurriedly, he was looking like a real idiot standing out there without a partner, he finally spotted a girl.

It was one of the seniors, Cassandra S something, he could never remember her last name. Besides being gorgeous, he was glad to note that she was just standing there. _Best. Frigging. Luck, ever,_ he thought as he hurried over. As he opened his mouth to speak, another senior, Conner I'm-a-Jock or whatever his name was, walked up and offered his arm to her then lead her out to the dance floor.

He stood there blandly glaring at the spot she had just been. _Spoke to soon. Maybe Steph will take pity and…Who am I kidding?_ Stephanie was never the mercy type anyways. Slumping in defeat, he glanced up at the eager dancers then peeked once more around the fringes for anyone without a partner. Then he blinked and straightened.

_Who's that?_ He wondered as he looked at the unfamiliar girl that sat just off the dance floor. She didn't look anyone he'd ever seen at school, or maybe it was just the costume. The girl seemed to be dressed as a lovely Cinderella or some princess but then she wore a rather ugly half mask with large ears and long nose. She was darker skinned but her hair was very fair, nearly the color of his own. _Must be someone from a younger grade,_ he decided but then he couldn't figure out why there would be a younger student there; any younger and she would be in middle school. She didn't look that much younger than him at least.

He shrugged and walked over to her; couldn't hurt to ask right? If she said no, which would jive would his steak of luck for the night, he could probably use it as an excuse to mope with Stephanie and the others. _And if not…_

He sucked in a deep breath as he walked up, causing her to look up at him. He nearly lost any courage he had as he looked into her soft green eyes but then he finally spoke. "Would you, um…care to dance?"

She blinked, as if stunned. "I…" she looked at him and then to his curiosity, she glanced quickly to the dance floor. He looked to where she did only to see one of the football players dancing with two girls at once; he guessed she was looking at him then. She was into _that_ guy? But he wasn't…oh, hell, what did he know about girls and their strange way of picking men that obviously weren't going to love them back. (Sarah never could explain _that_ one at least.)

He was half ready to flee without her saying anything else but he blinked as she suddenly stood and faced him. "Okay, lets."

_But wasn't she…? Ah, don't jinx yourself!_ He tried to look confident as he smiled. "Oh…okay then," he said, holding out his hand. She nearly snatched it and he blinked as she hustled him out onto the dance floor. _Does this make me some kind of rebound dance partner thingy?_ He was hesitant to ask, even to speak making for an awkward minute of dancing before the next song came on. "Ah, well, thanks for the dance?" he tried. _Steph's gotta let me come back now, this is way too awkward._ She however, seemed to be a little upset; at a lost, he spoke again. "Ah…wanna…do it again?"

"Yes, please," she said quickly and they returned to dancing this time Toby felt more curious than awkward. "I'm sorry."

Toby cocked his head to the side. "Why?"

"Because I…guess I'm using you to avoid sitting there like a lump all night," she confessed.

_Does this mean_ I was _sitting like a lump all night?_ he wondered unhappily. He hoped not. "It's alright, it was…getting boring just standing there too." He paused then went on, deciding he might as well try for honesty. "And because my friend forced me to get out here."

She laughed at him. "Oh, so you're using me too, huh?"

Toby began to object then grinned himself. "Oh, jeez, I am, aren't I?"

She giggled and he couldn't help but keep smiling as he felt at least the awkward mood pass. "So, what are you exactly?" she asked, looking at his costume.

"I am the Man in Black," he declared then decided to go for some flare and spun her around.

She laughed and stepped back to him. "But you're wearing brown boots."

He shrugged. "I wasn't buying new boots to only wear once anyways."

"I thought you were a pirate," she offered.

"Well, the Man in Black is also called the Dread Pirate Roberts."

"Oh, so _that_ explains the sword," she nodded.

He grinned, mentally cheering the fact he had managed to convince Sarah once again into letting him borrow her old fencing sword prop. "I'm borrowing it for now."

"Is it real?" she asked, with a teasing grin.

He sighed. "God, I wish it were."

She giggled at him and they settled into a companionable silence as they danced for awhile. Toby look down ever now again to make sure he didn't step on her feet or gown, not that she didn't notice it. "Worried you're going to step on me?"

"I have terrible luck—last time I danced with a girl, I stepped on her hem and tore her dress. Then she fell back into the refreshment table and the punch spilled all over her," he admitted. She looked sympathetic but then she fought not to giggle. "I got called Sir Butterfingers for a year after that," he added, succeeding in making her laugh. "Hey, I forgot to ask, what's your name?"

She paused. "My name?"

"Yeah; I'm Toby," he said.

"I…" she paused but to their mutual surprise, a phone started ringing. He could see the blinking lights from inside the thin drawstring bag she wore around her wrist. "Excuse me," she said quickly then fled.

Toby stood there, blinking in surprise. He didn't stay there long however before he felt an elbow jab him in the back.

"Move it, Williams," ordered a senior whose name he couldn't remember.

He glared at the older boy but seeing as his dance partner had ditched him, he really didn't need to be out there. He turned and walked back to where he had been standing earlier to see that his friends had come back.

"Hey, Toby," Tim greeted him, handing him a cup.

Not feeling particularly thirsty but glad for a distraction, he took the cup. After a deep swig, he emptied it then glared at the empty cup.

"Thirsty much there?" Bart asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Must have worked it up dancing, right?" Tim grinned placating.

"Toby? How'd it go?" Stephanie tried.

Finally he looked up from his cup, back to the stars hanging down. "I think Cinderella's clock struck midnight."

"…what?" Bart asked, brow furrowed.

"Does that mean you got ditched out there?" Tim asked, head cocked to the side.

Toby shrugged and began to walk away. "I'm getting some more to drink." Stephanie tried to call after him but he ignored her and went on. As he poured himself a cup and then another, he began to ponder about his night. _Looks like my luck still turned out to be crap anyway. _He took another swig. _Oh well…_


	15. Just to See You Smile

The second part of the obligatory High school AU.

**Prompt: "First date"**

* * *

The next Monday after the Halloween Masquerade, Toby lulled in bed for as long as he could until his mother booted him out of it. As he walked to school, he couldn't help but think back to the dance and to his nameless dance partner. Just who was that girl anyway? She had disappeared for the rest of the night, even though he had kept on lookout, he never spotted her again.

_Looks like Cinderella really did run out on me,_ he mused as he walked towards the school. After his little metaphor after he returned to his friends, the name seemed to affix itself to her. It wasn't like he could call her by her real name anyways, right?

As he entered his first class, geometry, he dropped into his seat and waved at Tim and Stephanie as they walked in. Sitting was alphabetical, so he didn't have a chance to talk with them for long before Mr. Morrissey walked in and they returned to their seats. As he walked in, a girl walked in behind him.

"Good morning students, I'd like to introduce you to our new transfer student."

"This late in the year?" one student asked but he was quickly shushed as Mr. Morrissey glared at him.

"Now I know that you all give her a warm Thomas Edison High welcome, _won't you?"_ he added, glaring again at the vocal student who slumped in his chair. "This is Miss-"

"Lisa. Lisa Underhill," the girl provided. Toby looked up and stared, for the first time really taking her in. She sounded and looked a little… he gasped as he suddenly banged his knee on the bottom of his desk.

Mr. Morrissey frowned at him. "Are you alright, Mr. Williams?"

"Yes…Mr. Morrissey," he hissed between his gritted teeth. The girl, Lisa, was looking at him too and he knew she recognized him in return. Or at least he guessed she did because her eyes were rather wide before their teacher told her to take her seat not that far from him.

He didn't see her again until third hour English and still he did not get to talk to her. He tried to get a seat next to her but the teacher pointed to the open free chair in the front row far from him.

"Would you like me to call you Ms. Underhill or would you prefer Moppet instead?"

Lisa froze at the name in horror. Around him, Toby could hear students snickering while she began to slide down in her chair. He could only watch as she paled and Mrs. Isaacs look up to frown at her.

"Well, dear? First or last name?"

"My name…is Lisa," she tried weakly.

"It says Lisa is your middle name here," she even made a show of double checking. Toby gritted his teeth. "But I'm willing to be flexible, if that's what you want."

"I…I…"

"They probably messed it up in the office, ma'am!"

To his own shock, Toby suddenly realized he was standing up, having knocked his chair over as he got up. He felt a trickle of sweat go down the back of his neck as watched the entire class and teacher, including Lisa…or was it Moppet?, turn to look back at him. He swallowed noisily.

"What was that, Toby?"

"I…worked in the office once," he lied. Bart, who was in this class, frowned knowingly but didn't call him out. "Sometimes they screw up names and stuff. I think they just…did it again?"

Mrs. Isaacs stared with a pinched look on her face. "…that may be the case, Toby, but I do believe that the situation did not warrant the outburst." His face went red as some of his classmates giggled at his expense. His teacher shuffled the papers, tapping them against her desk to straighten them out. "However, since I know you only meant to help out your fellow student, a new one at that, I will let it pass."

"Th-thanks, ma'am," he stuttered.

She looked over the rims of her glasses. "You may sit down now."

"Right," he answered and bent down to pick it back and sat down. Although he felt embarrassed, when he glanced up he saw Lisa look at him appreciatively.

* * *

When school ended, without them sharing another class or even lunch hour, Toby walked out and took a deep breath, eager and happy to be free for another afternoon. He checked his watch; Sarah got off work from her classes at college early on Mondays and would come pick him up at four o'clock. He said goodbye to his friends as they left, Stephanie and Tim to his car and Bart so he could jog home. As he stood outside on the steps leading out of the building, he looked up to watch the clouds passing by.

"Thank you."

He blinked and looked back towards the building where the voice had come from. Lisa stood there, almost sheepishly watching him. "For what?" he asked, trying to be smooth.

She smiled as she saw through his attempt, but relaxed in a way he had hoped she would (even if it hadn't worked out as well as he hoped). "For standing up to her…and for taking the heat off me by dumping your chair."

"Oh, heh," he chuckled, looking away. "I, I meant to do that," he nodded to emphasize her point.

She smile stretched wider. "Well, thank you."

He smiled back. "No problem." The was a moment of silence before he decided to ask his question. "So, is your name really Moppet?"

She glanced around worriedly but no one seemed to have noticed. "Yes, now keep it down."

"What's wrong with it?"

"It's embarrassing," she insisted.

"Hey, it can't be as bad as my middle name."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh really?"

"Yeah," he grinned then leaned forward. "Want to hear it?" She frowned a bit but nodded. They bent together closer and he whispered into her ear. After a second she clasped her hands to her mouth to keep from laughing. "Yeah, see? My middle name is way worse."

"Is it really… God, did your parents like, hate you or something?"

"I wonder," he said sportingly. "Well, the thing is, my mother _loves_ Gone with the Wind."

"But why would she—oh! I get it," she blinked. "Still…"

"Yeah, I know." He grinned and bumped their shoulders together. "So don't think you got off much worse than others, hear me?"

"I get you," she laughed. They were interrupted by a loud string of honks and Toby saw that it was Sarah, waiting in her car.

"Oh, oops, that's my ride," he coughed and started to walk away but then turned back to girn at her. "Hey, can I call you Moppet?"

She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Can I call you Ashley?"

He glanced around, partially to check if anyone had heard her, and then walked closer to her. "Can I tell you something my sister once said?"

"You always listen to your sister?"

"Only when she's right, which is almost always."

She looked dubious but nodded.

He leaned closer, as if to tell a secret. "Being something other than who you are, all the time? Doesn't usually work."

She mulled the words over. "Your sister sounds smart," she conceded.

"Well, she _is_ a professor," he grinned. She smiled herself. "So, can I?"

She looked as if she was thinking about it. "You like pizza?"

His grin grew. "I _love _pizza."

She looked at him for a bit, still looking a bit warily amused. "Well then, it's a date."

"Calling you Moppet's a date?" he asked cheekily.

"Calling me it unless we're on one will get you called Ashley. Loudly," she added. "Friday?"

"The mall?" he suggested. "Say eight-ish?"

"Well," she smirked. "I _would_ call that a date."

"The mall, Friday, at eight-ish," he repeated, walking away but doing it backward so he could keep talking. "See you there."

"See you then," she finally grinned, letting the dubious look fall.

"Awesome." He waved a bit, trying to contain his excitement when she waved back. He had a date this Friday, he had a date with Moppet Lisa Underhill, and life was looking great; even when he tripped backward over the steps since he hadn't been paying attention. But at least Moppet had the decency to pretend, even if it was poorly, to not have noticed. Apparently life wasn't going to let his head get too swelled. He got up and hurried over to his sister's car, calling one last goodbye over his shoulder to Moppet.

When he got in the car, Sarah raised a brow at him. "That look like it hurt," she commented.

"Oh, well, it, uh, must have looked worse than it was then," he muttered, still grinning like a fool. Sarah shook her head at him after a moment and started the car; Toby looked back out and waved again when he saw Moppet still watching him. She waved back; he finally settled into his seat, ignoring the throbbing lump on the back of his head and counted his blessings.

"Toby, are you _bleeding_ on my car seat?"

However small those blessings may be.

* * *

**Oh and a special bonus, how's this for an outtake?**

**I wrote "…told her to take his sister not that far from him" instead of "…told her to take her seat not that far from him". Oopsies!**


	16. What Sarah Said

Remember that dark AU from the "Letter" prompt, "Follow You into the Dark"? Yeah, turns out I couldn't _not_ continue it; also it ain't getting much happier. Sarah and Hoggle interaction ftw?

The title, in case you're confused, comes from the Death Cab for Cutie song, 'What Sarah Said' not Sarah as in Sarah Williams. Listen to the song to figure out what the message of it has to do with this chapter.

**Prompt: "Angel"**

* * *

"You have no idea how glad we all are to see you again, missy," Hoggle said, looking away from the view of the city walls that the heap of trash they were on provided them.

Sarah smiled and reached out to squeeze his wrist since his hands were full. "I'm glad to you too, Hoggle." Hoggle grinned and tried not to look like a lovesick fool about it. It seemed it worked because she turned to look back to the walls and castle without mentioning if anything was amiss with his expression. "So, everyone ready?"

"Yeah, but we've got awhile to go yet before they get started," he explained and then muttered under his breath. "_If_ those nimrods don't screw it up somehow…"

"It'll be fine—have some faith, Hoggle."

He glanced at her confident face and smiled back a bit himself. "With you leading, Sarah, I'm sure it'll be a piece of-"

"Don't finish that sentence," she ordered with a mock glower. "_Unless_ you want to jinx us."

"Heh. Right."

She smiled and they both settled in, waiting for the signal. After a nearly fifteen minutes of waiting, a loud ruckus began behind the walls to the city. Hoggle heard a few of the goblins and their fellows shift atop their own piles of trash heaps but thankfully no one broke off to charge at the walls just yet. Finally, they heard the echoing screech of a barn owl before they saw it swoop down overhead, heading straight to the castle.

"That's the signal," he muttered.

"Jareth's in—let's go," she ordered before she crawled over the crest of the trash pile and slid down the other side before him. All around them, Hoggle could hear their compatriots slipping down and joining them as they crept to the city gates. By the time they cleared the last trash pile, the gates swung open and they made their wild dash with it, giving up stealth.

* * *

Hoggle couldn't precisely remember what exactly happened as they charged into the city; he remembered crossing blades once or twice with rebel goblins but most goblins had apparently taken one look at the oncoming force, the flight of their former king, and the past Champion leading the way before they switched sides. No one really liked Mizumi and they longed to make some merry hell for her, like their true natures screamed to do. But the opposition was stronger the closer they got to the castle, especially when the guards finally caught up with them. Hoggle himself didn't recall fighting any guards although he did recall Ludo tossing one off him and straight into a wall with enough force to make the wall buckle.

What he clearly recalled was that he stuck to Sarah's side like glue. He followed into the worst of the frays but then Sarah was like an unstoppable force as she plunged past her opponents. Even when someone nearly took a chunk out of his shoulder, another event he didn't remember happening, he had followed her. He followed her into the castle and then lost her in the twists and turns of the passages. He found himself, most uncomfortably, in the dungeons of the castle.

In past times, with Jareth at least, the dungeons were only used for offenders against the crown. People who tried to assassinate Jareth or had personally betrayed him in some way. Hoggle himself had been lucky not end up there after Sarah beat Jareth. Under Mizumi's reign, however, the common jails had filled up too fast along with the oubliettes and other detention cells so she had begun to stuff people down here as well. The cells were stuffed to the gills with goblins groaning and begging to be let out.

The guard on duty took one look at him and yawned. "You with the people make all that racket out there?"

He blinked but for once his bravery kicked in before his brain could. "Yes," he declared proudly.

The guard looked tiredly at him. "'bout time you people showed up. Here," he said and tossed him the keys. "I'm outta here—retirements calling me and I don't care what happens in the castle anyway."

He blinked owlishly as the guard left then shook his head and hurried to open the cells. When he said that he was here to overthrow Mizumi, all the goblins cheered. Not that all of them cared who was on the throne, just as long as they got to make mischief. He watched them as they streamed out, knowing that they were going to cause problems for the rest of Mizumi's followers _very_ shortly. He gave a precursory check before he would slam the door shut—goblins were a hearty race (half the reason they didn't care when they got kicked around by the king and whatnot) not prone to illness but he wasn't sure if Mizumi had actually fed or watered them while imprisoned here.

He wasn't truly surprised to find the cell still occupied; there was two goblins huddling in the back corner, one of them giving off a smell even worse than a living goblin. In the other corner however was a sight that surprised him—a human figure, curled upon itself. His heart nearly leapt to his throat as he saw the blond hair and wondered if it was in fact Toby. Perhaps he wasn't dead? Sarah would be ecstatic…

The hope died quickly though—on a second look, the skin was too dark to be Toby and the girl was wearing a ragged dress. Still, he wondered what a human—or what he presumed to be human—would be doing in the cells. He hobbled over to her and looked more carefully at her.

She was giving off a terrible stench, one that even though Hoggle had been living in the Bog of Eternal Stench for the last thirteen years nearly choked him. The swamp smell was musky; this one was sweet in a way that made his stomach turn. Her skin was jaundiced and clinging to her in a way that highlighted every bone in her body, even her skull seemed to stand out in relief to the taunt flesh. She was breathing in short, infrequent bursts.

Hoggle felt a great swell of pity for this poor girl before him and to make it worse, he couldn't help but notice she could have been Sarah's double from the time Sarah had run the Labyrinth. He wished he could help her, or at least remained with her for what little time remained for her. Knowing that this probably the last time he would see this girl who was identical to his Sarah alive but also knowing that he hadn't the time to comfort her as she died. With a sigh, he patted her arm and tried to sound comforting and warm. "Don't worry, miss—you hang on for a little while longer and we'll get you all fixed up. Can you just hang on for a little more? I promise, you'll be okay."

She gave no response nor sign she either felt or heard him. Shaking his head mournfully and knowing it was already too late, he stood and left quickly. He never realized or noticed as the letter that he found weeks ago slipped out of his pocket and fluttered down to land neatly in the girl's lap. Not that she noticed herself; who did notice was her next visitor. A man with shiny shoes and black slacks stepped up next to her and plucked the letter up, reading it. After reading it, the man who was really just barely older than a boy sighed and smiled wistfully but fondly at the girl before him.

"Moppet," he called, gently shaking her shoulder. "Time to get up."

The girl blinked and looked at him. "To…by? How…?"

He smiled. "Come on, everyone's waiting for us," he said, holding out his hand for her to take.

With a strength she hadn't felt in weeks, she pulled herself up with his help. "Ah, my letter…!" she exclaimed, seeing it in his hands.

Toby offered it to her. "I really made you worry, didn't I? Can you forgive me?"

She blushed and took it. "I'll think about it," she said, a bit more shy than she meant to. They smiled at each other and both were struck by a sudden wave of giddiness to realize they were together again. "I missed you more than I can say," she whispered, tossing her arms around his neck.

He grinned into her shoulder. "I'm very sorry." She sniffed in reply and they remained like that until Toby finally pulled back. "Shall we go then?"

"But what about…?" she began, looking back to the still breathing corpse behind them.

Toby squeezed her shoulder. "Don't worry—Hoggle and my sister will take care of it."

She frowned but nodded before turning back to smile at him. "I guess I'm ready then."

Toby smiled gently and took her hand to lead her out. "Good, because Stank's been missing you like crazy and Hana bored with just me and Skub when he's like that."

She giggled and followed him; wherever he meant to lead her, she was going to follow close behind.


	17. Deck the Halls

**Prompt: "Mittens"**

* * *

It was growing close to Yule in the Underground, everyone knew this if for no other reason because snow was falling them in thick layers. When Moppet woke up one morning, it was like the entire Labyrinth had been hidden beneath of an avalanche of snow. According to Toby, several passages were completely blocked and the Bog was the only body of water not frozen. She knew this because it was on that morning, she woke up to Toby, Ashley, and Daniel shaking her awake to go ice-skating.

Ice-skating wasn't unheard of in the Underground but most weren't doing it at six in the morning. Before she knew it, Ashley had her half dressed, Daniel was searching for their coats and skates, and Toby had disappeared down to the kitchens to beg some hot cocoa from Skub. By the time she woke up properly, she finished getting herself dressed and had to chase Ashley and Daniel back to their own rooms to get ready themselves while she took over looking for their things.

She had a thick fur coat over one arm, a hat already jammed on her head, and was helping Ashley with her mittens when they arrived in the dining room. Skub had breakfast laid out along with some hot cocoa and was sitting next to his king while Toby coaxed him into joining them. "You got to come, Skub, you don't know what you'll be missing."

"Skub's still got work to do," the goblin protested albeit very weakly.

"Oh, Skub, please come," Moppet began, trying to help. "After all, it'll be lonely enough without Hana or Stank with us."

"I never knew fairies hibernated," Ashley commented as she pulled herself up into a seat and began eating.

"I never knew Rock Callers did either," Toby mused. "Then again, I thought he was a yeti for the longest time…"

"What's a yeti?" Skub asked, looking just as confused as Moppet felt.

"It's a monster back home," Daniel explained briskly as he buttered a roll.

"Anyway, Skub, you gotta come—it won't be as fun if you can't enjoy it with us," Toby insisted.

Skub finally smiled and agreed. After they finished eating, all five of them marched out, Toby leading the way to what he promised was the closest and most frozen lake in the Labyrinth. Then again, it was much shallower than most. Toby and Skub helped Ashley and Daniel lace their skating blades to their boots. Moppet gave up and looked up at Toby beseechingly. "Help?"

Toby grinned and sportingly didn't tease her as he helped her with the blades then pulled her upright on the ice. "See, not so bad, right?"

"If you say," she replied, gripping his arms firmly as her legs shook.

"I'll help you skate, if you need me, Moppet!" Daniel declared eagerly. Moppet smiled at him but Ashley didn't seem so happy with her brother.

"I think Moppet needs _someone_ else's help," she said firmly then grabbed Skub's hand and yanked him out onto the ice. "Besides, Skub needs our help more."

"But, I already knows how to skate," Skub tried to tell her but she gave him a very stern glare.

"No, Skub, you most definitely need our help."

"I do?"

"He does?" Daniel asks, glaring suspiciously at his sister.

"Yes, you do. C'mon, Danny!" she exclaimed then grabbed Daniel's hand as well and began to pull them along behind her.

Moppet and Toby stared after them. "I wonder what's gotten into her…" she mumbled.

Toby, on the other hand, grinned. "Heh, somebody's got a crush on an older lady, me thinks."

Moppet blinked at him. "Crush? Older lady?"

"Ah…never mind," Toby coughed. Then he smiled and began to tug her after him as he skated, keeping a hold of both her hands so that he was skating backwards. "C'mon, we can't let them get too far ahead of us."

"This isn't a race, right?" she asked shakily. They went over a bump and she squeaked in spite of herself, making Toby laugh.

"C'mon, it'll be fine—where's your sense of adventure?"

"Back in bed with the rest of my good senses—why'd I ever let you talk me into this?" she bemoaned.

He grinned and grabbed her arms firmly, pulling her closer. "Don't worry, I've got you—you can trust your king, right?"

"Can I?"

He laughed and she smiled a bit in return. For several minutes they skated in silence, Moppet gaining more confidence with each inch they covered, not that added up to much as she refused to let him loosen his grip on her.

"Don't you dare let go," she ordered once he tried to release her arms.

He grinned. "Ah, come on. Brave Moppet's too chicken to skate on her own?"

"I am most certainly _not_ a chicken, and even if I was, I still wouldn't have been meant to glide along on a sheet of ice."

"A sheet of ice that is a foot thick at it's shallowest. Come on, relax and-"

Irony, or fate whatever, seemed to kick in at that moment, interrupting Toby. Much earlier, the ice had cracked in that particular spot, and refrozen unevenly—as they skated past, Toby still skating backwards, caught a patch of raised ice. With a yelp, he fell heavily on his back and with his strong grip on Moppet, pulled her down with him. The next thing Moppet knew, they were skidding over the ice, straight into a snow bank. When they hit land, Toby began to roll over and over. They finally ended up a good yard away from the ice, Toby resting on top of Moppet for one shocked moment.

"Oh, Christ," he muttered than pulled himself up to look down at Moppet.

Moppet, for her part, had been knocked around but was mostly fine except for a few scrapes and bruises. She wasn't ready however for suddenly realizing that it was Toby on top of her, asking worriedly if she was alright. "I'm okay, I'm okay," she said.

"I'm so sorry about that—you sure you're okay?"

"I said I'm fine," she insisted but smiled lightly. Good old Toby, always looking out for her. She began to sit up but paused when she realized Toby hadn't moved yet. She raised her head to ask him to move, but stopped dead when she realized that by sitting up, their faces were barely an inch apart. She felt his breath fan out across her mouth, and she got caught in his eyes, blue eyes, eyes as blue as the sky—which she abruptly saw was not blue at the moment but clouded over when a hefty snowball smacked Toby upside the head, jerking his head to the side.

"Oww! Hey, who threw-" he started looking to see where it came from but paused, blushing darkly.

Moppet glanced the way and realized that not only had Daniel tossed the snowball, he, his sister, and Skub had been watching them the whole time. Her own face started blushing as she listened to Ashley yell at her brother for "ruining their moment together" and watched as Daniel glared at Toby while Skub hid his blushing face behind his hands, looking out between the gapes of his pudgy fingers.

_I'm never going to live this down,_ Moppet realized as Toby practically jumped to his feet like she was a bed of nails. Even when he helped her up, Moppet couldn't dare look him in the eye.

"I think that's enough skating for now. How about we go in?" he suggested tightly.

"But we just got here!" Ashley cried.

"I want to go back _now_," Daniel argued then skated over to the other side to yank off the blades on his boots.

"Come on, Ashley, Skub, let's get going," Toby tried softer.

"If you says so," Skub said, still blushing. Ashley huffed and grabbed one of his hands before skating back herself.

"Come…c'mon, lets go," Toby stuttered, pointedly not looking at her as he tugged her back out onto the ice to join the others.

"Okay," she answered quietly. Honestly, she was almost too embarrassed to hold on but she kept her grip firmly knowing she'd be on her back in an instant if she let go. Her whole face seemed to burn but since her gloves had been soaked through when they fell in the snow, Moppet couldn't help but squeeze Toby's warm hand. After a moment, he glanced back at her before quickly looking forward again. But he squeezed back, almost too gently for her to feel.


	18. In the Jailhouse Now

Alright, so some of the prompts really stumped me. So for a few of them, I right clicked on them and brought up synonyms. This one brought up some suggestions that finally got the wheels turning for me. By the way, this third one shot for the day—I burned myself out for you the reader, and for me to have a wider selection of new chapters to pick from when I put them up.

Not in continuity with the other chapters. I really need to set up a timeline or table of contents on my livejournal to help readers figure which goes where. All in favor, say aye!

Hey, guys, now the bad news: as of this week, I'm only going to be posting chapters once a week. This isn't because I've run out of chapters--it's to make them last through November when I'm going to be doing NaNoWriMo when I won't have time to write fanfic. If I don't do this, then you won't get anything at all through November. Sorry guys.

**Prompt: "Detention"**

* * *

Miss Moppet Underhill had been a servant in the Spittledrum household since as long as she could remember; this really didn't account for much, but it's all she had to work with however. Thomas Spittledrum had been a bachelor all his life and now that he was passing into his 'golden years', he had whittled down his staff to just Moppet, a guard, and a coachman. Since she was hand servant, maid, and cook for Spittledrum, her work kept her busy for most of the day. The only time when she had a 'break' was during her walks over to the courthouse to deliver his lunch to her master.

Despite having worked for the toady little man for the last twelve years, since the day after she had shown up on his doorstep after being discovered by Candlewic, the guard, Moppet didn't earn enough wages to spend frivolous on the items she saw for sale as she strolled through the streets towards the courthouse. Not that she would have had time to stop anyway, but Moppet did enjoy looking through the windows of the shops.

"Paper, paper!" cried the newsboy from his corner, waving papers underneath people's noses. "City Council to approve building of a new cinema! Paper, ma'am?"

Moppet smiled and bought one from the boy before folding it under her arm. She continued to look in windows; she sighed over a gorgeous white hat with purple flowers in the hat shop's window, peeked in to see what was going on in the chemist's shop, and took a deep breath in front of the flower seller's stand. It always felt far too soon when she arrived at the courthouse. She nodded to various people and smiled at the men who doffed their hats in passing to her. She checked the clock as she walked under it and quickly sped up.

When she reached the Spittledrum's office, Edward Skub, the clerk, glanced up and smiled brightly at her. "Morning, Miss Underhill. Bringing the judge his lunch, eh?"

"As always, mister Skub," she smiled. "I'll just step in and-"

"Oh no, miss," Skub said quickly before looking around pointedly then gesturing her closer. Moppet bent over his desk while he scooted closer to whisper in her ear. "The judge's talking to You Know Who again."

"Again?" she asked sharply, leaning back and frowning. "But Mister Kingsford-"

There was an explosion of shouting and cursing from inside Spittledrum's office, causing Moppet and Skub to exchanged worried but knowing looks.

"What's Mister Kingsford doing back so soon?" she whispered leaning back over the desk to speak.

"I thinks that To…err, his grace's brother in law is in trouble again," Skub admitted.

Moppet frowned. "But he just got brought in two weeks ago. What could he-" another loud racket of screaming broke out and Moppet had to wait before daring to continue. "-what could he have done this time?"

"I thinks it's that Hana girl he keeps around. She's all sorts of trouble, she is."

"Why doesn't Mister Kingsford-" she began but then the door swung open and Moppet jumped away from the desk while Skub stood up at attention.

His Honor, Mister Thomas Spittledrum, was a short, barrel shaped man with no neck. His nearly bald head sat like a squashed ball on his shoulders; today his entire scalp was red as he marched out of his office. Following behind like an elegant shadow, His Grace, Mister Jareth Kingsford, was his opposite in every way. Where Spittledrum was short and wide, Jareth was tall, lean, and strikingly handsome in a roguish way. His Grace's smile always seemed pained whenever he looked at Moppet, who bore an unfortunate resemblance to his deceased wife. He was giving her the same aggrieved smiled now before shifting his gaze to a less upsetting point of interest.

"You, there!" Spittledrum barked, looking at Moppet. "About time you got here—leave my lunch and paper with Skub and take this note to the jail with His Grace." He nearly tossed a rather rumpled piece of paper at her.

Skub looked just as shocked and worried as Moppet did. "Sir, maybe I's should go with His Grace to the lock up."

"Nonsense, boy, I need you to finish my correspondence—now, get to it and stop wasting my time," he demanded then turned without another word and stormed back into his office.

Moppet and Skub looked at each other in mutual shock; Spittledrum had never just slammed a door in their faces, especially not in His Grace's face. Jareth, however, looked less concerned about that and more awkward about Moppet as his 'escort'. "Lovely man, the judge," he commented to neither of them or anyone else in particular either. He turned to Moppet and nodded briskly as he put his hat back on. "You won't have to come with me, miss. A lady such as yourself shouldn't be forced to visit such a den of criminals anyway."

"Begging your pardon, Your Grace," Moppet began, "but I'm bound to get in trouble if I don't go with you."

"Fair enough," Jareth replied in such a bland matter that Moppet wasn't sure if he was pleased or angry with her. "Shall we then?"

"A moment, sir. Here, mister Skub, make sure His Honor eats before he takes his heart medicine," Moppet reminded him, handing over the basket of food along with the newspaper tucked in.

"I's will. Best of luck, Miss Underhill," Skub added quietly.

Moppet nodded before turning back to Mister Kingsford. His Grace raised a brow. "If that will be all, after you, Miss," Jareth said before opening the door before and letting her out first. Moppet waved goodbye to Skub and waited outside the door before His Grace followed. He didn't offer his arm to her, as most gentlemen would, but secretly Moppet was glad—His Grace just cut too imposing a figure to come in physical contact with for long.

The walk to the jail was excruciating in the long silence between them, only broken by their footsteps and the tapping of His Grace's walking stick against the pavement every other step. Moppet was too nervous to speak and Jareth just didn't appear to want to speak at all so Moppet kept quiet until they arrived at the lock-up. The guards didn't look surprised to Jareth at least although they all gave Moppet queer looks. When she handed the note from Spittledrum to Warden Hoggle, he gave Jareth a dark, uneasy look before reading the note and going "Bah!" He grabbed a ring of keys and began to limp in front of them, leading the way to one of the cells in back.

Inside, two people sat quietly while a rather large puppy ran in circles. The girl raised a brow at Jareth and Moppet while Toby, His Grace's brother-in-law, glared at Jareth. The puppy ran up to the cell bars and barked happily at them, waging his tail.

"Afternoon, Grace," greeted the girl with a wave. "Stank's about as happy as I am to see you—if that's a get-out-jail pass Hoggle happens to be holding and it happens to include us."

"I'm sure the Warden wouldn't keep a pixie of a girl like you in here for long either way, Hana," Jareth replied blandly but smirked as he said it.

Hana shrugged. "I'm hoping that's a yes then."

"Come on, Hana, you know better than to think that he'd go that far out of his way for others," Toby began, standing and walking over to the bars to hang his wrists from them. "Ain't that right, Jare?"

Jareth sighed. "The things I do for Sarah's memory…"

"Betcha wish you never taken me in after she died, huh?" Toby snapped with a glare. "I wouldn't be in here if it wasn't for the two morons you had tailing me all the time thinking I was going to rob that store!"

Moppet gasped in spite of herself. This was turning out to be a better drama than most plays she had ever seen (not that Spittledrum knew she snuck into the performances after him when she was supposed to be at home, cleaning).

"I'm not at fault for the mishaps you get yourself into, Toby," Jareth retorted bored. Apparently this wasn't anything new to him. "If someone thought you were going to rob the chemist, then it was all your doing."

"We weren't going to rob that place, honest, Your Grace," Hana cut in. "I needed to go in to pick up some medicine for my mum."

"We have six witnesses that said you were armed and looking shifty," Hoggle interrupted before rounding on Jareth. "If I'd known that leaving Toby with you would mean he'd turn out this way, me or Didymus would have taken him."

"Oh, thanks for the vote of confidence, uncle Hoggle," Toby groaned, hiding his face in his hands. Hana looked amused as Stank tried to comfort Toby by leaning his full weight against Toby's leg, making him stagger. "Lay off, Stank. And we weren't armed, for the last time."

Hana coughed awkwardly.

Toby turned to her. "Hana! You _weren't_…were you?"

Hana studied the nails and ignored him.

Moppet giggled quietly.

"Sarah left his upkeep to me, Hoggle, now if you don't mind, open the cell up so we can leave," Jareth ordered waspishly.

Hoggle glared but put the key in the lock. Before he opened it though, he glared up at Toby. "If I learn you've been tossed in here again, His Grace will not be getting you out, do you hear me?"

"Yes sir," Toby sighed, rubbing his temples. Hoggle huffed but opened the door. "Hana _is_ coming too, isn't she?"

"The note only says for you-" Hoggle began but Jareth interrupted him.

"Now, now, Hog's head, you can't mean to that we should leave poor Miss Faye in here, can you?" Jareth asked before making a 'tsk tsk' noise at him. "Not very gentlemanly of you."

"Yeah, that's right," Hana added. "Be a sport and let a girl go, just this one time?"

"Wouldn't be the first time he's let one go," Jareth muttered under his breath. Hoggle glared murderously at him but Moppet didn't understand what he meant. Finally, Hoggle stepped aside and jerked his head to signal her to leave as well.

Hana smirked and joined them outside the bars. "Thanks, Warden."

"Get out of my sight," Hoggle hissed then limped away.

"Lovely chap him," Hana muttered to Toby and Jareth.

"He and Judge Spittledrum need to meet up," Jareth replied. With a sigh, he nodded to Moppet. "Thank you for your time, Miss Underhill. We won't keep you any longer."

"Thank you, Your Grace. I'll be heading home then," she said, curtseying shallowly to them before turning to go.

"You don't mean to send a lady home without an escort, do you, Jareth?" Toby asked.

Jareth raised a brow at him. "It's barely two o'clock; I'm sure Miss Underhill is plenty capable of walking home by herself in broad daylight."

"Hell, I'll go with her," Hana started to suggest.

"_No_," Toby and Jareth replied at the same time. Moppet couldn't help but notice they glared in the same fashion much to her amusement. Toby turned to His Grace. "We could call for a carriage for her at least."

"Oh, that's not really-" Moppet began, knowing that she would have no near enough to pay for a carriage.

Jareth ignored her anyway. "I suppose that would be adequate enough. A carriage it is then."

"Hey, how come you've never called a carriage for me?" Hana asked, frowning.

"Because you are not a lady," Jareth answered bluntly to Moppet's amusement. She was surprised to see Toby grinning a bit as well before he saw her looking then gulped and schooled his features blank.

Despite her opposition, Moppet found herself being helped up into a buggy by Toby while Jareth paid and tipped the driver. "Thank you, but really, this isn't necessary," Moppet tried again as Toby stepped back, looking a bit flushed.

"Oh, good heavens, just take a free ride, girlie," Hana snorted.

"Goodbye, Miss Underhill," Toby said quickly as Jareth joined them.

"Goodbye, Mister Williams. Your Grace. Miss…Hana," she said as they nodded to each in turn. Stank barked once and she smiled. "Goodbye, Stank." She waved to them as the buggy started off. She couldn't help but overhear them before she was too far away.

"' _You don't mean to send a lady home without an escort, do you'?"_ Jareth asked in a questioning voice.

"I never knew you were sweet on Spittledrum's maid, Toby!"

"I'm not! Shove off and let's go home."

"My, I say we hit a nerve."

Moppet blushed and was grateful they couldn't see it as she rode home.


	19. Little House

Alright now guys, depending on your interpretation of this chapter, it could be really squicky. Consider yourself warned. Don't read on if you're easily offended. Definitely a dark chapter, also AU from the others.

**Prompt: "Diary"**

* * *

August 14th, 4 months, and 15 days since my defeat at the hand of Sarah Williams. After sifting the remaining shards of Sarah's dream, I found what I am looking for. I have prepared everything for Her arrival. Sarah might have slipped through my grasp, but I shall not let the mistake happen with Her.

August 19th, 4 months, 20 days since my defeat at the hand of Sarah Williams. She has arrived; when the goblins brought her in, I admit I was struck by her resemblance to Sarah. Then I recovered as I realized how foolish it was to expect different. But more than looking like Sarah, she acts and talks like Sarah. She is proud and strong but when I draw near I see a hesitance in her. She is more like Sarah than I ever dreamed. I have every confidence that my plan will succeed.

August 31st, 4 months, 31 days since my defeat at the hand of Sarah Williams. My efforts have gone unrewarded before now but I have finally made progress. She admitted her attraction, a point in my favor. If only her original could have been so cooperative. I have, however, noticed a far off look in her eyes as she gazes out the window of her room. I fear she will start asking when she can venture outside her room. I shall have to think up an acceptable excuse for not allowing her to roam where she wants.

September 1st, 5 months, and one day. As I feared, she questioned me not be allowed to leave her room. My reasoning placates her, for now. She is too like her other at times for my preference.

September 3rd, 5 months, and three days since my defeat. I've been thinking of allowing Her to join me on a nighttime stroll. The goblins will be too tired to notice. To amuse myself, I sent for Hoggle and told him I was making him Prince of the Land of Stench, like I warned him I would. His look of horrification was well worth it. If that damnable Sarah had just said yes, none of this would be necessary.

September 19th. All of my efforts for naught! When I went to collect Her, I found her escaped and I quickly tracked her down. She was in the Escher Rotunda, gazing around. I had hoped I could coax her out and stuff her back in her room, where she belonged. Then she turned on me, demanding to know the truth. I tried to use the last of my magic to compel her affections to me and it seemed she wouldn't resist but without warning, she was able to tear herself free. In my rage, I cursed her and stole all her memories. With nothing left for me in the husk but Sarah's likeness, I sent Her to the Junk Yard. May she rot there, for all I care! I should never have pinned my hopes on this knock-off. My power is nearly spent now and soon the goblins will figure this out. A trip to Mizumi might be in order. Damn that wretch!

November 21st. To my horror, that useless Spittledrum has taken in Her for a servant. Thankfully, the stupid little beast caught on to my immense displeasure and swore never to bring Her here again. It is good, for if I see that shard of Sarah's soul again, it will be too soon.

Moppet remained staring straight ahead, even as the slip of paper fluttered from her grasp. Her mind was blank and empty. _Empty as the day Jareth wiped it clean_, she thought suddenly but quickly ceased thinking again.

"Moppet? Something up?" Toby asked over her shoulder. "Hey, what's this?" He stooped to pick up the torn out diary page she had just read. "Is this the page from Jareth's diary we couldn't find? What's it say-"

"DON'T TOUCH IT!"

Toby jumped and stepped away from her. Her chest heaved for a minute from having bellowed so loudly when hadn't been taking deep enough breaths to support the yell. He raised his hands up in a surrendering gesture. "Okay, okay, no touchies. Got it. What's wrong with you?"

She gasped and nervously tucked the hair back from her face. "I…it's nothing. _It's_ nothing too—just some scrap of paper," she explained and hurriedly snatched it up. She crumpled it up and stuck it in her pocket. "I'll toss it out in a bit."

He gave her a 'You've jumped off the deep end, haven't you?' look and slowly nodded. "…how about we go get some fresh air? We could use it to…calm down."

"Right," she answered, blinking spastically and stood. "Let's go."

From the privacy of her rooms leant to her by Toby, Mizumi smirked as she surveyed Toby and Moppet from her silver goblet. Every thing was going exactly according to plan.


	20. I Wish

Recently, I read on a forum, someone's ideas on what the prophecy could truly mean and it got me thinking. Another "AU" although, who knows, maybe it could up closer to canon than I thought.

**Prompt: "Puzzle"**

* * *

"_When King of Old Forsakes His Hall,_

_And chaos comes to Goblin Town_

_A human boy shall heed the call_

_The long-lost heir shall don the crown._

_A promise of yore, born of blood_

_Will open path to Labyrinth's heart_

_And usher forth a wondrous flood—_

_A new era then shall start._

_When friends are fa (writing cut off) and family lost and prince cast into dark abyss_

_The Labyrinth and rightful heir shall be restored by true love's kiss."_

_--Prophecy about the rightful heir, volume two, pages 145-146_

When Toby was young, his sister had often told him a story she made just for him, about a young girl who wished away her little brother and had to go through many dangers to get him back. He had wondered to himself late at night about how the girl felt when she left the magical lands from her journey to return to plain, boring existence. He could never quite grasp how deeply she must have been disappointed to leave behind her new friends and the exciting places she had seen. But then, Toby had only been six, and it was hard enough imaging why someone would ever want to leave such a place let alone what if felt like after returning.

That was then, and now he was seventeen and he knew all to well what it felt like be torn from the wondrous, magical places he had been a part of for a few glorious months when he had been fourteen. _Seventeen and miserable_, he mused, as he distractedly watched his science teacher scribble illegibly on the chalkboard. Chin propped against the back of his hand, Toby made for a composed if bored teenager whose mind was starting to wander away from the lecture. Not that he really needed to listen to the teacher—the textbook covered everything he spoke of anyway and Toby had read three chapters ahead already. _That's what happens when you get bored with a science book next to you,_ he thought. Science had never been one of his favorite subjects anyway, even before he left for the Underground. Then again, he hadn't really had a favorite subject before he left—school had been either intensely boring or intensely mortifying. But after all that had happened during the struggle for the Goblin Kingdom's throne, such issues seemed trivial in comparison.

Shifting his chin to rest on his other arm so that he could lay the one arm down, he stifled a sigh. Classes he had taken in the Underground were so much more interesting. You had to learn to think on your feet in his etiquette class alone, something that four years worth of math on the "top side" hadn't accomplished for him. Then again, he had had to learn fast—with his own coronation looming and the notion that there were a lot people depending on him made him buckle down for once. He had something to prove there; here, he was no one, just another high school student. There, he had a promise to uphold, an oath to keep.

_"…I need your promise that you'll put the good of the Labyrinth first. There are a lot of people who will be counting on you."_

He'd promised. He could remember still, standing there with his fist clenched in determination inside that bizarre museum dedicated to _him_. (He wondered if the curator had added on anything about his short time as the heir to the Goblin throne or the whole fiasco with Mizumi afterward.) At that moment, he'd never felt so sure, so willing to just do something. He was willing to become a leader to those in need of one, not just because he'd basically been forced into the position, but because it felt so damn good to be needed and so nice to know that there were people that wanted and needed him there.

_But not here,_ he thought idly. No needed him here when he first returned; the taste of leadership had gotten to him, the glory and responsibility had caught hold of him. Aboveground, he had to fight for the role of a leader, but alone once more and desperate to regain anything that could remind him of the Underground and his role there, he'd finally stood up to be heard. Most surprising of all, people actually would listen—then again, making one goblin listen and obey was hard enough, and he was groomed to rule thousands of them. One small group of teenagers, brought together to do a group project? Piece of cake.

_"Never say that," Sarah shuddered._

_"Why?" he asked, lips quirking._

_"It's a jinx, Tobe. For your own sake, don't tempt fate that way."_

"Whatever," he grumbled to himself. To his surprise, several people began to giggle loudly. Blinking and sitting up, Toby looked up to realize his teacher was looking pointedly at him. "Yes, sir?"

"I asked you, Mr. Williams, to list to differences between the structures of a plant cell to an animal cell. If this too difficult, I'm _sure_ we could just ask one of you-" he started, snootily shaking his head to emphasize each word.

Toby frowned. _Yup. Just like the textbook_. "Plant cells have a rigid cell wall due to chitin which gives the cells structure to hold the plant up. Inside the plant cell, there is a vacuole, a water filled gap in the cell." He fought not to smirk in triumph at the look on his teacher's face. _Take that! Thought you could make me look stupid, huh? Serves you right._

His teacher looked like he'd swallowed a gallon of sour milk. "That's correct, Mr. Williams. Glad to see you at least had some attention to the subject," he huffed before returning to the chalkboard.

Pleased that he'd done well, he returned to leaning his chin against his arm and absently hazarded a glance around. In a moment, his eyes quickly slid back to the desktop; flattering as it was, he still wasn't used to appreciative looks from his classmates, especially the girls. Shifting uneasily, he wondered if Sarah had been right when she'd said "Girls love confident guys. It's a great turn on to meet someone who seems sure and secure with themselves to be truly confident." _Then again_, he added with a mental smirk, _Sarah is with a guy now that has confidence in spades._

The thought, however, made him frown. Was she "with a guy" as in dating, friendship, or…? It had been three years since he'd returned, some things were bound to have changed in that time, right? _I wonder what Sarah'd say if she saw me now…Wonder what Jareth or Hana or Skub would say…_

_I wonder what—_

Toby was pulled from his thoughts rudely by the blaring bell and the stirring of his classmates. "Class dismissed—now I want a one page summary of this chapter and—Don't roll your eyes at me, Miss Harris, I'm not the one who'll be in trouble if you don't hand this homework in!"

"I like your picture," Toby's neighbor, a girl named Melody if he remembered right, whispered as she stood.

Toby blinked and looked down at his open notebook. In hard pressed ballpoint ink pen lines, a perfect replica of Moppet's mask rested on the blue lines of his college bound notebook.

_"Toby, remember what you __**promised**__."_

Toby grimaced and stuffed the notebook in his bag quickly before hurrying to his next class.

_"…I need your promise that you'll put the good of the Labyrinth first."_

But there wasn't any point now, was there? What was the point of remembering a promise you couldn't keep even if you wanted?

As he walked into his English class, Toby felt the familiar urge to reach into his past and grab the masked girl's shoulders (_shouldershandsface, godwhatI'dgivetotouchyou) _and ask her "Why can't you just let me forget? What's the point? Why make me remember at all, here, where I have no power at all?"

_My will is as strong as your and my kingdom is as great. You have no power over me._

Instead, he gripped the doorframe, letting his nails bite deep into the wood leaving crescent shaped marks. As quickly as he clutched it though, he let go and walked to his desk.

_Why do I still have to give a damn when I'm not even close enough to you anymore?_


	21. Won't Go Home Without You

Another which is only vaguely linked to the prompt. Sorry about that. Since it is so vague, I'll give you guys a hint: tampon bleeding bleeding hearts. Fear my thought process.

Oh and a fun fact; I kept writing 'me' a lot. Freudian slips, I think. Toby, let me wish myself away to you! …then again, Moppet wouldn't like that…oh well. :D

Also, I, like the lunatic I am, took up another prompt table from the original challenge list for Scorpius Malfoy/Lily Luna Potter. If any of you are HP fans, I'll be putting that one up soon enough.

**Prompt: "Tampon"**

* * *

Today had not started out well for Toby; earlier, around midnight, he awoke to the insistent tugging of someone Wishing away a child. He regretfully slipped out of bed without waking Moppet and quickly dressed himself before leaving with a group of goblins. He was surprised to find himself on the lawn of a very large estate, in front of a very expensive looking house. He sighed and waved the goblins ahead while he walked with a more sedate pace up to the mansion.

If it wasn't for the fact he knew instinctually where the Wisher was with the child, he would have gotten lost for sure. The goblins didn't have the same gift though, so he had to lead them through the house. He didn't bother to stop them from mischievously ransacking the place however as they walked to the child.

By the time they reached the child, a five year old boy at most unfortunately named Erin, the Wisher had left the room. The young boy looked up at Toby with tear tracks running down his freckled cheeks. "Who are you?"

Toby squatted down next to him. "I'm Toby."

"…are you the Goblin Queen?" Erin asked in horror.

Toby twitched and tried to be patient. "King. Goblin _King_, actually."

"Oh…have you come…to take me away?"

Toby sighed and kneeled on one knee to get more comfortable. "Afraid so; I have to collect children when they get wished away."

"But Dad, he didn't…" Erin bit his lip. "I _know_ he didn't mean it! When mom was still ali…"

Toby quietly gazed at him as he trailed off in tears. "…there's still a chance for him to get you back."

Erin's eyes went wide. "…there is?"

"Mmmhmm. I'll tell you in a bit; first, I gotta send you ahead. Your dad will be back in a second, and I have to talk to him first," he explained, feeling the Wisher's presence drawing near. Erin reluctantly nodded. Toby grabbed one of the goblins before they could all disappear. "Wake Moppet and tell her what happened—but _knock_ first before you go into the room. You don't want what happened _last time_ to happen again, do you?"

The goblin shook his head vigorously then disappeared with the others. Toby walked over to Erin's bed and sat patiently on the edge, waiting for the Wisher to come in. When he did, Toby glared at him although he was mostly hidden by the shadows.

"Erin? Erin, I wanted to talk with you. I'm-" the Wisher, Steven Toby's magic supplied, stopped dead when he suddenly realized the figure sitting on the edge of the bed wasn't his son. "Who are you? How did you get in here? This isn't—Erin! Where are you? What did you do with my son?"

Toby stood. "Nothing that you didn't _wish_ for."

Steven's eyes widened. "But I just…I didn't mean it!"

"You said the words. You Wished him away, and now he's mine." Toby paused. "But you **can** get him back, fair and square."

Steven looked torn between his horror and his desire to punch Toby's lights out. "How?"

Toby lifted his chin and began to explain, but he wondered if this man would actually be different from the others.

* * *

By the time Moppet woke to a goblin pummeling door, Toby had already returned. Moppet found him sitting on his throne with a young boy on his knee, both of them eagerly gazing into a crystal. "Toby?" she called. "What's going on?"

"He's actually trying, Moppet, he's actually inside the Labyrinth right now," Toby declared with a grin.

Moppet blinked at him. "Who is?"

"My Dad!" the little boy explained happily before returning his gaze to the crystal.

"Oh? Were you …Wished away then?" she asked, as she came to stand by them. Toby scooted over and let her sit next to him. She looked in the crystal and some 30 some year old running through a long corridor. He didn't seem to be aware of any of the turns or openings as he raced right past three consecutive openings. "How's he doing?"

"He made it in and he's still 12 hours and…" he checked the clock. "43 minutes left."

"Go, dad!"

"Toby, I…" she paused then tugged sharply on his sleeve to get his attention. Toby blinked and looked up at her. "Can I speak to you for a moment?"

He finally nodded then handed the crystal to the boy before picking up off his knee. "Erin, do me a favor and don't wander about. It's easy to get lost in here, okay?" Erin nodded but never took his gaze off the crystal. Toby patted once on the back before standing and walking out of the throne room with Moppet to his office. "Something wrong? I know it's really early, but-"

"I don't mind that." _Much_, her brain added. "But, Toby, you must realize what could happen if someone beats the Labyrinth. You could lose all your power and-"

"End up like Jareth," Toby finished. "Which, all considering, isn't too bad off really."

Moppet frowned. "Toby, be serious."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "…even if I did lose…I'd rather lose and have Erin go back to his father than have the tear the two apart."

"Toby! You're saying you'd…" She bit her lip to keep from yelling. "…you'd give up everything? You magic? Your home? Your friends…?" she trailed off, looking betrayed.

Toby's eyes widened as he suddenly realized why she was so upset. "I-no, Moppet, that…" he paused and tried to gather his thoughts into something clearer. "Moppet, what I mean is…when I found out I was…Wished away myself, I felt so ill and Sarah…I didn't know if I could forgive her at first. I mean, I thought about it after awhile, I just, Sarah was always there for me and decided that I _could_ forgive her but…to be Wished away…to know that you aren't wanted at all…it hurts so much… I know that that probably doesn't make any sense but-"

"No."

Toby blinked and looked up at her; her eyes looked distant and hazy, like she was far away from him. "…Moppet?"

"No, I understand…" she paused and shook her head, at what he wasn't sure. "Let's…just back out there before he tries to find his father himself."

Toby nodded reluctantly and walked out behind her.

* * *

Considering that Steven, the Wisher, the Runner, or whatever the goblins called him as well, had started running in the middle of the night the fact of the matter was he just wasn't getting anywhere very fast. Toby practically had to send anyone, be they fairy, goblin, or even a chicken once, to go help him out into new corridors. Finally, Toby gave up and went to go help Steven _himself_ (which Spittledrum assured had never been done before and caused the Goblin Mayor to glare when he left).

"You're never going to get anywhere at this rate," he called down to Steven from his perch on one of the walls of the Labyrinth.

Steven gaped up at him. "Whenever I tried climbing up there, the wall dropped over!"

"Yeah, well, being king has its perks," he shrugged then mentally winced as Moppet's words floated back to him. "Anyway, you need to pick up the pace. You only have," he paused to look pointedly over Steven's shoulder, prompting the man to look at the clock that Toby had conjured there. "…five hours, twenty three minutes." He frowned. _Sarah didn't take this long, did she?_

"It's not my fault!" Steven snapped, rounded upon him. Toby was glad he was out of reach. "I can't find my way here and no one's that helpful and…" He paused and took a deep breath. "Look, please…is Erin…is he alright?"

Toby tried to look dispassionately about it. "He's worse off than what he was an hour ago," he answered cryptically.

"Well, what's that supposed to mean?" Steven asked, looking panicked. "For all I know you've already turned him into a…please…"

Toby cocked his head to the side like a curious cat. "Please _what?"_

"Please…I…he's the only thing of his mother I have left! I can't…I need him."

Toby frowned darkly. "'The only thing left of his mother'? If the only reason you're running is to try and maintain the memory of his mother, then just give up and get out! No wonder you haven't got anywhere," he spat, his expression shadowed. "If you want to get him back, you're going to want to get him back because you want _him_ back, not some memory." Steven looked gob smacked up at him and Toby wondered about his outburst himself. He frowned and glanced back to the clock. "Time's running out. You need to decide _now_."

Steven finally stopped staring to scowl at him then turned and began to stalk off down the corridor. As he left, Toby closed his eyes and called on the Pathmaker, the heart of the Labyrinth. It told him that while Steven wasn't on the easiest path to the castle, (which he had missed two corridors back), he was now on one that _could_ eventually lead him out to the castle. Satisfied with whatever help he'd manage to supply, he changed into an owl and flew back to the castle.

When he arrived back, he found Moppet watching him with a curiously blank expression. He took it to mean that she wasn't quite pleased with him, but since he couldn't really think of how he was supposed to make it any better, he joined Erin (along with Daniel and Ashley, who had woken up just a bit ago) and returned to watching the crystal.

After a long while, Toby looked up to the clock. He glanced over to Moppet to see her looking away from the clock to look at him. They shared an uneasy glance before standing.

"Erin," he began, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Come along."

Erin finally pried his eyes away to glance up warily at him. "But…Dad's almost here—he's at the City Gates, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is," Moppet answered. "We need to go meet him."

"Oh," Erin said then handed the crystal to Toby. "That's a good thing, right?"

Moppet and Toby shared a look. "…let's hurry up and go," Toby suggested gently. Moppet, Erin, Daniel, and Ashley followed Toby out of the castle until they came to the town square. Goblins of all shapes and sizes, from the castle and from the town, came and joined them as they waited for Steven to run up to them.

"Dad!" Erin shouted as he saw his father race over; he would have run over, but Moppet kept a firm hold on his shoulder.

Steven paused in front of them, desperately trying to catch his breath. "Er-Erin?" he wheezed. He looked up at Toby. "Did I make it? Can we go back home now?"

Toby looked at him with a sad look, caught between bitter disappointment and regret. Finally he looked pointed over his shoulder to where a clock hung in the air. Steven followed the look with desperation mounting.

13: 25.

Steven moaned and fell to his knees, weeping bitterly.

Moppet glanced unhappily between him, Toby, and Erin, who didn't quite seem to get what was wrong. Ashley and Daniel, who didn't quite get it either but knew enough to know that the crying was a very bad sign.

Toby sighed. "Erin…" he called to the boy, not looking up. "You may…you should say …'goodbye' now."

Finally the gravity of the situation hit the little boy. He stared up with wide eyes as Moppet let go of him. He walked numbly at first to his father side then broke into a run and tossed himself at him. His father sobbingly clutched him close. "Erin…Erin…I'm so so sorry. I didn't mean…I never meant for any of this to happen…"

"I know, Dad," Erin cried into his father's shoulder.

Toby could only allow for this to go on so long—finally, Spittledrum grimly coughed to catch the king's attention. Toby glanced at him before looking up at the two. "Erin, it's time to go now." Neither of them appeared to hear so Toby nodded to two of the guard to separate them.

"Wait," Steven begged as they pulled his son away.

"Dad!"

Toby felt a hand grip his shoulder and he turned to see Moppet lean against him. Shortly after that, Daniel reached up to grab the hand on his free side while Ashley buried her face into Moppet's side. Sighing, he squeezed Daniel's hand, nodded to Moppet, and finally turned to go back to the castle, nearly forgetting about Steven altogether.

Not that that last long.

"I wish…I wish for you to return my son to me!"

Several goblins began to excitedly chatter before glancing up at Toby.

"We do not always get…" began a voice that Toby recognized as the Wiseman, the wandering goblin sage of the Labyrinth. "What we wish for."

"So there," his hat added.

Toby sighed; a part of him had wished it would work but had felt no power tug of a Wish. He moved to leave again.

"Then I wish that the goblins would take _**me**_ away," he shouted. "Right now."

To his surprise, Toby felt the powerful tug of a Wish. He nearly bent over from the power of it, drawing a startled "Are you alright?" from Moppet. He turned to look at the desperate Steven before looking at the Wiseman.

Even the Wiseman looked baffled.

"Well…" his hat said. "Would that count?"

The Wiseman paused to consider it. "…there is…no rule forbidding someone…from Wishing themselves away," he said at last.

"Nonsense and balderdash, it's never been done before," Spittledrum spat.

Toby looked back to Steven and then to the Wiseman.

"…if someone believes enough…and wants to Wish away…someone. The Goblin King…must answer," he said.

"…would there even be anyone to run for you?" Toby asked uncertainly.

"No one," Steven answered swiftly. "It's just me and Erin…please…?"

Toby paused and looked at the goblins. "Well, guys, he Wished himself away…go get him."

The goblins cheered that they now had two people Wished away in one day and gladly began to tug Steven to the castle. The guards, at loss, let Erin go. The minute the boy was free, he ran over to his father side.

Moppet and Toby shared a look before walking home themselves.

"Does this mean we'll both be goblins?" Erin asked him as they caught up. Toby smiled.

* * *

Moppet separated from the impromptu celebration that had spontaneously occurred when everyone made it to the throne room, and left to join Toby on a balcony. Inside, she could see Erin and Steven sitting at the place of honor at the foot of the throne while the goblins happily partied around them. In the crowd, Daniel played darts with some goblins while Ashley danced with some others. It looked quite inviting really but at the moment, Moppet felt the need to talk to Toby.

"I would think that you would want to be partying in there too," she said, drawing his attention as she joined him at the balustrade that he was leaning upon. He looked back at her and smiled a bit. "Aren't you happy?"

"I am," he admitted. "But I was thinking…about what you said earlier…"

"I…didn't mean to be harsh then," she said quickly before he could continue. "I was just a little upset because-"

"I know," he replied, lifting one arm up to grab her hand for a squeeze. "What I meant was I was thinking about…having to give up my power and such."

"Oh…"

"I…could live without my powers," he said finally.

Her eyes went wide. "Toby-"

"No, let me finish." He paused. "I…could live without magic…or being King even…but I really don't want to live…without you."

She felt herself blushing like he himself was.

He cleared his throat. "That's why I've decided…in case I ever do lose it…I want you to become the next Goblin Ruler."

Moppet's jaw dropped. "But, Toby, I don't have magic or-"

"Oh, that's kind just part and parcel to the whole Heir thing," he answered. He squeezed her hand. "I just…if any were to happen, I know I can trust on you to take care of everything. …and even if I do loose, you could keep me around if you want," he explained with a playful grin.

"…you scheming little…" she started but felt a grin tugging on her lips to match his. She huffed finally and shrugged. "It would be an honor."

They kissed quickly before smiled and led her back inside. "You know," he began, address the party-goers. "This just isn't good enough. Skub!" he called to his friend.

The pig snouted goblin looked up. "Yes, Toby?"

"I think we could some of the elf wine." There was a great cheer from the crowd. "19… oh, 1992, if you have it."

Skub nodded happily. "Right away, Toby."

"1992?" Steven asked, confused. "Isn't that a bit…early."

Toby chuckled. "Time in the Underground just doesn't run at the same pace."

"And…that makes it better?"

Toby grinned. "Oh, much better."

Steven shrugged.

Toby turned to glance back at Moppet. "You won't be having any, will you?"

She glared good-humoredly and smacked his shoulder.


	22. Other Ways

Part two to "Puzzle" or "I Wish", the chapter of Toby back from the Labyrinth and none too happy about it.

**Prompt: "Smile"**

* * *

One could only take so much monotony before you went mad; since his reluctant return from the Underground, Toby's life seemed to be nothing but monotony. Every day he got up at the same time, ate the same thing, went to school, came home, did homework, stare at the ceiling moodily, eat dinner, and then brood up at the ceiling again until he fell asleep. Computer games had lost they're charm—why play a fantasy when you already knew real life goblins and creatures existed?—and many of Toby's friends just couldn't relate to him anymore since his months long "disappearance". So, instead of spending the rest of his afternoons glaring at his ceiling, Toby had taken his father's advice and gotten a job.

Not that it seemed to fix the glaring thing, but at least the walls he got to stare at were more interesting than his ceiling.

"Williams, think you could turn it down a little?" his boss, David, asked as he passed Toby by to head to the office in the back of the story.

Toby glanced up at his boss as he walked away but lazily turned down the Jazz music pumping through the shop's speakers. As he adjusted the knob on the radio below the counter, Toby sighed. Straightening up, he yawned and stretched, his jaw popping noisily making him rub it absently. For being so close to the holidays, the music store wasn't very crowded tonight. Being as it was close was the only reason the shop was open as late as it was and also the only real reason David had hired him. Still, pay was above minimum wage and David had promised time off after the holidays since he had taken a liking to Toby.

"Hey, maybe I should run out there and drag people in, huh?" he called back and listened with a grin to his boss's chuckles.

"Stay put, Williams. If no one comes in soon, we'll close up early," David called back.

"Well, alright," he said to himself, leaning back in his seat and propping his feet up onto the counter. For the next several minutes, Toby lost himself in Blue Horizon but then Rhapsody in Blue's slinky clarinet seeped through the speakers and his foot tapped in time to the music. Someone walked in during the piano solo so Toby dropped his feet quickly, but then recognizing it as one of the regular customers, Toby relaxed. This guy never bought anything anyway, just came in to drool wistfully over a drum set in back.

While he waited absently for the regular to shuffle out after a bit, Toby grabbed a magazine to leaf through, occasionally looking over the top of the pages to check and make sure the regular wasn't shoplifting. Not that there was any need, the guy was still in back, dreaming over the instrument. _Dreams…_ he thought then shook himself.

Trying not to glare, he returned to his magazine and only distractedly noticed the regular finally leave with a forlorn look on his face but pockets still apparently empty. Toby sighed and flipped through the magazine until he found something to read for a while. When he finally found an article, he half read half stared at it until his boss tapped his shoulder. "No one's coming. Start locking up, I'll take care of the cash register."

"Right, boss," Toby nodded and quickly did as he was told. He shuffled out the door for a moment to pull down the metal shutters in front of the windows before padlocking them and running back inside, huffing into his cupped hands and praying life would return to them quickly. He grabbed his stuff from the back room and met David at the door. He bade his boss good night as he began to walk home; the walk was a decent one, especially since winter had arrived in full force.

As he wandered down the sidewalk, he blinked as a snowflake landed on one of his eyelashes. He looked up when he saw more beginning to fall gently around him. _God, please don't let a blizzard hit when I'm trying to walk home,_ he prayed idly, only paying partial attention to where he was going as he watched the snow. When he nearly ran into a telephone pole, he grimaced and forced himself to pay attention to the sidewalk. Still, when he stopped at a crosswalk, waiting for the light to turn, he hazarded a look back up.

_Yule's already gone past in the Underground by now,_ he mused. For every five hours Aboveground, 10 hours had passed in the Labyrinth; time like that added up fast making Toby not bother to even guess what date it would be there. _I wonder if Skub made everyone a good cake—he kept saying he'd make a great one for me when it rolled around…_ But by Yule that year, Toby was already gone. Before he left though, Skub had spoke fondly of his own Yule memories (except for the one Yule that was ruined with his mother being eaten) and upon his friend so distressed, Toby had tried him up by promising him better Yule memories from that year. _He looked so excited_…

Thinking of Skub and Yule made Toby start thinking of his other friends and their own Yule memories; Hana and Stank both hibernated in that time of the year, so they didn't have any to share. Sir Didymus and some of the more friendly goblins had been more than willing to share. And Moppet, she'd…

_"I don't really have any," she smiled, a bit embarrassed. "Since Master Spittledrum's busy all day, so am I."_

But wasn't that lonely?

_"Not really." She paused but then shrugged. "Besides, there was no else to spend it with."_

But he was there now. H-he meant, she had friends now.

_She smiled, touched. "I … guess then it will be different this year, for once."_

Toby stopped and looked back up at the sky—the sky above the Labyrinth didn't look much like our own unless it threatened to storm. If he could just ignore the sounds of the passing cars, Toby could nearly imagine himself back in the Goblin City. His daydreams were rudely interrupted when a car splashed slush up his pant leg however, drawing back to reality. Biting his tongue to keep from yelling after the speeding car, he huffed and began to walk home again.

When he finally arrived, he tried to open the door and frowned as the door failed to open. After a moment, he remembered suddenly that tonight and for most of tomorrow morning, his parents were staying at an inn where his father's company was holding their Christmas Party. Grumbling as he fumbled for the key, he stepped into the house. He had to wait a moment for the lights to come on, but by the time they did, he had already kicked off his shoes and had his coat off. As he pulled off his second sweater, he wandered over to the living room and paused. When he came in, Pendragon, now too old to get up and jump on him, wagged his tail and hefted himself up to join him. "Hey, big guy, have a nice nap?" Rubbing the old sheepdog's ears, he glanced around.

In the corner, his parents had set up the Christmas tree; it was shorter than last year's, but this one looked more realistic. It was unadorned, and in front of it was a box with a note on top in his mother's handwriting.

_Toby, put up the lights, will you? The white ones, and don't forget the ribbons. I want it to look nice when your grandparents come to visit with your uncle Alf. –Mom_

Toby frowned, and looked to the tree then back to the note. Once again, his mother seemed bent on changing another of their family traditions just try and impress their relatives. They had used colored lights and ornaments since Toby was a babe, every year they'd decorate it with each other too. But since Sarah had returned to the Underground, the tradition was permanently marred. Still, Toby didn't appreciate his mother's misplaced concerns on their image.

Glancing carefully around, Toby tapped the note against his chin. When he was sure he was alone besides Pendragon, Toby lifted his free hand to hover above the note's surface. Beneath his fingers, the ink pooled and reshaped itself to read: "_Toby, put up the lights, will you? The old ones, and don't forget the ornaments. I want it to look nice when your grandparents come to visit with your uncle Alf. –Mom"_

Smirking to himself, he tossed the note onto the coffee table. "Well, Pendragon, the note says to use the old lights. She can't be made at me now, don't you think?"

Pendragon panted and grinned in his doggy way. Toby patted his head and began to head towards the basement where they kept the lights. When he walked over towards the basement door, he noticed light from underneath his father's office. He glanced down at the dog, but Pendragon seemed oblivious to any problem.

"Looks like dad left the light on in there," he shrugged, reaching for the knob. "We'll just have to turn it off, won't we, boy?"

The minute he opened the door, he had to pause.

_Did I just hear a __**giggle**__?_ he thought, blinking owlishly. He looked down to see if Pendragon had heard it too, but the sheepdog was halfway back to the living room when he looked. _Traitor,_ he groused. Turning back to the door, he fixed up his courage then let it swing open.

There, that was definitely a giggle there. He glanced around, but at first there seemed to be nothing there. Then a shadow darted around the side of his father's desk, and the chair was jerked back, spinning slowly from the force of whatever it was launching into it. It slowed to a stop, facing away from him.

Wary but too curious to not look, Toby crept forward, inching around the side of the desk. He couldn't see anything in the seat from his viewpoint. As he rounded the corner, however, he gaped at what was there. Lunging forward, he snatched up the mask that was sitting there.

The mask was identical to the one Moppet had worn. After a moment, he suddenly realized it had to have been Moppet's mask—there were crack where someone had expertly glued the mask back together.

"Where the hell did this thing-" before he could finish, Pendragon began to bark madly at something. Fearing that someone might have actually gotten in, Toby raced out of the study, the mask still in hand as he ran to the living room.

When he got there, he found Pendragon backing out of the doorway, barking incensed at something inside. Glad to see his dog safe but still wary, Toby pressed up against the wall inched towards the door. Looking up at the large mirror his mother had hung on the wall, reflecting the living room; what he saw there made him gape and whip around to look inside himself, to make sure he wasn't crazy or dreaming.

"Hello, Toby."

"…You…" he tried.

"Yes?"

He gaped.

A giggle. "Do you remember your promise, Toby?"

He slowly nodded.

"Good. Because that's why I'm here."

He stepped in closer. "But…how?"

A shrug and a soft smile. "Merry Christmas."

After a moment of stunned silence, he smiled back. "Merry Christmas," he mumbled as he walked over to his long lost friend.


	23. In the House of Flies

Okay, y'all, I (finally) really got this storyline worked out. If you want to read it uninterrupted, make sure to go to the master list on my livejournal. The name of this chapter should be (In the House of Flies) as in Change (In the House of Flies). Oh, and Daniel is at least sixteen at this point.

A 100 drabble, I'm so proud of myself. But that seemed too short, so I added on a second part. So, two for one chapter.

**Prompt: Library**

* * *

Something strange was happening inside the castle, but Ashley couldn't quite place her finger on what it was. _Maybe_, she decided with a nod, _it's just puberty_.

Or at least, it made it easier to ignore everything else that was going on. Toby looked strained or worried whenever he saw Moppet. Moppet looked haggard but said it was merely nightmares. The only one who seemed happy was Daniel, who was learning magic from Toby after the he discovered magic within him.

Maybe it was just puberty, but something strange was happening in the castle and Ashley couldn't figure out what.

* * *

"No, Daniel, like _this, _you'll just crush it like that," Toby tried, rearranging Daniel's hands and fingers. Beneath the young man's fingers, a baby chick peeped worriedly. The point of the exercise was to make the chick age back to the age it had been originally before Toby de-aged it for Daniel to practice.

Moppet rubbed her brow but smiled, wanly, at her fiancé's attempts at teaching. "Daniel's making great progress, isn't he?"

Toby smiled back. "I wasn't really the lecture learning type when it came to magic anyways."

Her gaze softened and for a moment, she looked just as refreshed and radiant as ever to Toby's delight. "You were a fantastic student when Jareth did help you find the right way to learn though."

Toby, pink and pleased was about to respond when there was a violent squawk. Both he and Moppet turned to look at the chick, which now lay with its neck at a wrong angle, and Daniel who glared venomously at the floor in front of it. "Daniel!" Toby yelped, pulling the boy's hands away from the now charring body.

Daniel blinked and then gaped at the chick as Toby gently picked it up.

"Is it-?" Moppet began and Toby nodded.

"It's okay, Danny, we know it was an accident, right?" Toby tried, looking back to the startled boy.

Daniel looked away from his hands up at him. "Yes…" His eye flickered over to Moppet. "An accident."

Moppet shivered.

* * *

Something strange was happening inside the castle.

Ashley just wished she knew what it was.


	24. Can I Buy You a Drink?

I want you all to know how flustered I got writing this thing. And I did it for you. (So no complaining! Just joking, I hope you guys like this.)

**Prompt: "XXX"**

* * *

Toby listened distantly to Moppet as she tried to explain to him what the problem with the dwarves down in the southern area of the Labyrinth was about. She littered the table in front of them with encyclopedias, old records for taxes and crops, several maps, and full color diagrams. He felt like he was at a board meeting.

_"And this explains why they keep trying to tear the walls down," she said, pointing at a picture from a book._

_"Why is that?" he asked, distracted by the hair sticking to her neck from sweat. She hadn't worn her handkerchief to hold her hair back so it spilled over her shoulders, nearly blocking her face._

_"They want more room to set up a forge," she answered, pulling another book over to show him. He glanced interestedly at the shallow indent between her wrist and palm._

_"And why can't we let them?" Finally he couldn't stand it and brushed the hair off her shoulder so he could see her face again._

_She blinked and paused to look at him. "…thanks," she said after a moment before returning to the papers, this time she was noticeably fidgeting. "This picture here…it, ah, shows that the new forges would take up-"_

_He frowned. "Moppet?"_

_She paused to look back at him. "Yes…?" she began. Their eyes locked and Toby didn't bother to try and look away, only praying that she wouldn't at least. He noticed her turning, moving closer to him and he did the same. "Toby…"_

This is taking too long. _He couldn't bear this tension mounting between so he leaned forward and captured her lips with his own. She murmured something soft and kissed him back. They began to kiss faster and soon he found himself rising to pin her against the table. "Moppet…"_

_"Toby." She took one of his roving hands and pressed it and the warm place between her legs. _

_"Moppet."_

"Toby?"

Toby started and blushed darkly beneath Moppet's questioning gaze. "Ah, yeah?"

"Are you okay?" she asked, straightening. "You dozed off and now you're all red." She frowned then pressed the inside of her wrist to his forehead. "You don't have a fever…"

"I'm-I'm okay," he insisted. "It's just…the heat. I'm having a hard time paying attention."

She raised a brow and pulled her wrist back. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah. It's just really warm out."

She looked at him for a moment before pointedly turn to look out the window. Toby's heart sank to see snowflakes drifting down and piling up on the windowsill outside. She looked back at him, concern softening her features. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Well, maybe I'm a little tired," he tried, nervously scratching the back of his head.

She looked disbelieving but then smiled and shook her head at him. "I can see it's no use talking about this now," she said, collecting the papers and books. "We'll talk about it later when you're better."

He watched disappointed as she began to leave until his gaze fell on her swaying hips. He gulped harshly but immediately returned his gaze to her face when she turned back to him.

"Get some rest, Toby. We'd all be in trouble if you aren't okay."

He smiled. "I'll try."

"See you later," she said as she left.

He sighed and slumped in his chair. Thank god his desk had hid his embarrassing …condition… when she had drawn him back to reality. Glancing about for some tissues, he grumpily noted that was the third time in as many days that he had drifted off while in her presence. His erotic little daydreams were becoming more and more of a problem; it was a good thing it was winter, it gave him a good excuse to wear a long cloak that helped hid any embarrassing growth that happened to 'spring up'.

"Where are those damn tissues?" he grumbled before letting his head thump painfully onto the desk. After a minute, he moved his head so that his chin rested against the cherry wood as he looked forward blankly. _When did I turn into such a pervert?_

* * *

It was sad to admit, but bunching his cloak up in front of him was becoming a bit of a habit whenever Moppet happened to be near. He felt a little ridiculous, always balling up his cloak in front of his lap just in case his dirty little mind happened to drift off to La-la land again.

"Anyway, _if you look here," she said, pointing to a picture of fairies hovering above a rose bush. "The reason why Hoggle was the only one to grow decent flowers is because the fact fairies eat and then shred them."_

_"Uh huh," he murmured, entranced by how her shirt shifted over her back._

_"If you ever want a proper garden in the Labyrinth, we're going to have to either get more people to spray, or were going to get Hoggle to give us his secret recipe for his fairy spray."_

_"I see…" he muttered, admiring her fingers dancing over the papers._

_"Right. So what we should do is—oh, where'd I put that paper?" she grumbled before wandering to the table in front of his desk where she had put a folder. His mouth went dry when she bent at the waist to shuffle through the papers, her behind directly facing him._

Oh god, I've died and gone to heaven, _he thought, standing. He went around the side of the desk to lean against its front. He wiped his brow and bit his lip. _No, I will remain gentlemanly. I will remain-

_She turned around suddenly before he could cover himself. She looked at him with an unreadable expression before letting the paper slip between her fingers. He crossed the space between them and she had her hands in his hair before their mouths met. He lowered her back onto the coffee table, straight onto the table. She grabbed his hand and slid it up her thigh murmuring._

"Toby?"

He banged his knee against the bottom of the desktop. He grunted in pain and let his head drop to the desk.

"Toby, are you okay?" she asked, hurrying to his side.

"Peachy," he muttered, rubbing his knee.

"Here, let me see," she said, one hand on his chair to roll it back.

"No!" he blurted, using his free hand to grab a swath of his cloak to fist over his lap. He looked up at her mystified expression and blushed. "I, um…it's okay really. I just, um…"

She frowned. "Toby, what is up with you? You've been acting strange lately."

"It's nothing," he tried, willing his erection to un-erect itself.

She glared. "Fine. Don't tell me," she snapped. She turned and left before he could stop her. She paused at the door to glance back at him. "I'll be around when you finally start acting like yourself again. Like my _friend_ again." She let the door shut with a stern click.

Toby looked distraughtly at the door and then let his head drop painfully against the desk again.

_My __**friend**__ again._

He groaned.

* * *

It took nearly half an hour to work up the courage to go find Moppet and apologize. He felt sheepish as he wandered around looking for her. Finally, he managed to find a goblin that pointed him to the crystal room. Bemused but still embarrassed, he walked to the room.

He hesitated at the door; what was he supposed to say? 'I'm sorry, the reason I've been so distracted is that I've been daydreaming about boning you?' _Oh yeah, that'd go over well,_ he thought, rolling his eyes at his own thoughts. Finally he took a deep breath and opened the door.

She was looking at a crystal. He blinked and studied her; she was flustered and entranced by whatever it was in the crystal. He took a step forward and opened his mouth. Then to his horror, he recognized his daydreams in that crystal. He made a tiny noise of mortification that caused Moppet to start and look at him.

Both of them stared in mutual horror for having been caught red handed. It was too much for Toby to stand; he magicked himself from the room to an oubliette deep inside the Labyrinth.

The moment he appeared in the oubliette, he let out a roar of frustration and horror then he proceeded to pace the small space while smacking his hands against his face. In the tunnel above, several Helping Hands asked him what was wrong and if he could keep it down, so he quieted to mortified grumbling.

"My god, I'm so stupid," he hissed into his hands. "What am I going to do now? Ah, _stupid_, stupid!"

The Labyrinth, ever aware, curious and worriedly reached out to him. He paused to reassure it of his good health but then went back to pacing.

"What am I going to say to her?" he asked no one in particular. "Jesus, how am I going to be able to look at her again?"

Finally he dropped down onto a mound of earth and willed a candle to light itself as he slumped. For several hours he stayed like that, constantly wondering and then despairing over what to do.

He never felt so humiliated, so dirty. She had seen all of his dirty little daydreams (while erotic episodes were perfectly normal, getting caught was horrifying) and now how was he going to face her? She was his friend (_when you finally start acting like … my friend again)_ and only that, and now she knew.

He stood finally with a sigh; Moppet had been right—they would all be in trouble if something happened to him, at least before he named an heir of his own. They were probably worried—the goblins especially got antsy if they something might be off with their king. Trying to bury his feelings, he shifted from his hiding place back to his throne room.

* * *

He hadn't been gone long enough for any of the goblins to start worrying, although that didn't mean he escaped the pint-sized fury of Hana. She fluttered in front of him, jabbing his nose to accentuate her point as she gave him a talking-to.

"Oww. Oww. Oww," he muttered, each time she prodded him.

She finally finished in a huff, crossing her arms in annoyance while he rubbed his sore nose. "And just what did you do to Moppet?"

"What?" he asked, eyes widening and cold shivers going down his back despite his warm cloak.

"She's been acting weird since you disappeared. I want the dirt, now dish," she ordered, her wagging finger a bit too close to his nose for comfort.

"I…didn't do…" But he did, didn't he?

She scrutinized him for a second before her eyes widened comically. "You were a pervert, weren't you!"

His jaw dropped in horror as several goblins turned to look curiously at them. He snatched her up and slipped out of the room. "Hana-" he hissed.

"You did, didn't you," she nearly cackled. She freed an arm to elbow his hand mischievously. "You dirty little boy, were you hitting on her? I knew you had it in you!"

"Hana, it's not—it's not what you think," he whispered trying to quiet her down as he moved quickly out of the hallway to his room. He finally let her go and she flew up to face him again.

"What do you mean it's not what I think, your reaction begs to differ."

He blushed at his own transparency.

"Look, if it's that much of a problem, go apologize," she suggested, crossing her arms.

He blushed darker. "But I can't-"

She glared at him. "You're friends, aren't you?"

"Yes…?"

"And you still _want_ to be her friend, _right?_"

_And more_, his brain provided unhelpfully.

"Then go say you're sorry."

"But I-" he tried again, but Hana was having none of it. She hustled him out of the room, (how she could do this was beyond him), and through the halls until, to his horror, they found Moppet. They stared flustered and embarrassed at each other before Hana broke the ice.

"Okay, now, you two apologize to each other or I'll get a cup of Bog juice to dump in your beds," she ordered to their disgust.

"Hana, that's nasty," Moppet grumbled.

Hana shrugged. "Then you two better make right. Later," she said before flying off.

Left alone, they both shifted uneasily. Toby tried several times to think of something to say but he never get his mouth to cooperate. Moppet didn't seem any better off. Finally, deciding he'd rather face a bed drenched in the foulest smelling liquid he could think of, he turned to leave.

Before he could get far, a hand caught his own. He looked back to see Moppet, red faced, holding fast while lifting another hand to cradle his own. "Toby…"

Dumbfound and flustered, he turned back. "Yeah…?"

She stared down at his hand for a moment before taking a deep gulp and pulling his hand closer. Tugging him closer gently, she cradled it above her heart. Finally she looked back up at his face; rather than say anything; she removed one of her hand from his and gently pulled his head towards her.

_This,_ he thought in a haze as she pressed her mouth against his,_ is so much better than daydreams._ They pulled back for a moment to stare at each other than kissed again. And again. And again.

The tension them was at once easing and tightening as he kissed her cheek, then the space behind her ear, and then her neck. She was panting harshly and was pulling his shirt free from his pants when he abruptly stopped. Confused and displeased, she glanced to his face to see him staring blankly over her shoulder. Craning her neck, her face turned dark red to see little Ashley staring unabashedly at them.

"So, does this mean you're going to get married?" the girl asked, head cocked curiously to the side.


	25. Rev 20:22

WARNING: Contains material that is not appropriate for some readers! This darker shit, yo; consider this your last warning.

**Prompt: "Red Bra"**

* * *

She was having another nightmare; Toby woke up, bleary eyed to Moppet's tossing and turning. Reaching out, he shook her shoulder and called to her. "Moppet, Moppet, wake up, you're dreaming again," he tried. Finally, she awoke with a start, eyes snapping open and sweat inching down her brow. He smoothed her hair as she panted. "Are you okay?"

She lay there for a bit, trying to catch her breath. "Yes," she finally managed.

Toby helped her to sit up, wrapping one arm around her shoulders. "Can you remember what it was this time at least?"

She shuddered but shook her head.

Toby grimaced and squeezed her shoulder, but she shook him off.

"I think I'll…go try sleeping in the study again," she murmured as got off the bed.

Toby watched as she walked away. "Try to get some rest," he tried.

She paused and nodded. "Goodnight," she whispered then left.

Toby looked down at her side of the bed and sighed.

* * *

Moppet's nightmares were news that was quickly spreading in the gossip circles not just in the Labyrinth and Goblin City, but also into neighboring countries as well. Curious or vindictive, people wanted to know more about the Goblin King's fiancée and any weakness she might have. But still, there was very little information to go on—no one knew if they were nightmares caused by some ailment or perhaps even prophetic dreams (highly unlikely—Moppet didn't have a history of any such thing).

There was little she could do about them anyway, most nights the only way to get sleep was to go sleep in the study where they had a bed tucked inside for when they napped during breaks from their duties. When she slept there, she found she had fewer nightmares for now at least.

She sighed as she opened the door to the study, then let it swing quietly shut behind her. She draped her robe across a chair and slipped into the bed eagerly, exhausted from her lack of restful sleep. As soon as she lay down, she sunk into a deep sleep.

_And then she was dreaming; at first she hardly noticed it, it being practically identical to reality at the moment anyway. She was still in bed, eyes closed and half asleep. But then she felt a pair of lips press against the side of her mouth before kissing her lips. She had half a mind to tell Toby to go back to sleep, but then she couldn't find the heart to say it. They'd been so distant lately, it was partially her fault at least—besides, it felt good._

_More kisses trailing down her neck, past her breast, and a hand pulling up her nightgown. She moaned as another hand hooked her underwear, pulling it down. "Toby," she panted as the mouth sucked at a nipple. Then she hissed as teeth nipped at the already teased flesh. "Ouch," she mumbled and he kissed her almost apologetically. _

_His hands parted her thighs, _but then_, she wondered dazedly, _whose hands are pinning my wrists like this?_ Indeed, her hands were above her head now, held fast. "Toby-" she began but then a hand clamped down hard upon her mouth._

_Her eyes flew open wide and for a moment, she saw the vague outline of a pale chest and head with a face too shadowed to make out. "Da-" she tried to say, but the hand pressed down tighter. Another hand pressed her eyes shut and this strange man drove his cock hard into her._

Toby awoke to Moppet's screams echoing throughout the castle. When he found her weeping, he was horrified to see the bruises like bracelets around her wrists, pressed across her mouth, and dug into her thighs.


	26. Rainy Day Man

Another AU—I used to do these a lot but not so much anymore, so I always like returning to them. Finishing this chapter was like pulling teeth by the way.

**Prompt: "Cow"**

* * *

The crops had failed again in the south, the third time in as many years. Panic and food shortage flourished in the Capital but for those who lived in the secluded areas near the Black Forest, life continued in its sluggish, monotonous way. News that came from the Capital passed amongst the gossip circles but none of the people who lived so close to the edge of civilization chose to do much about it.

Moppet fancied the thought of joining some of the other's plans to send some food, but even she needed to eat, and found that she could not spare even a jar of preserves. When winter would arrive, she'd be secretly grateful she'd kept her food stock. Or at least, that's what she told herself as she picked a few fallen apples to take back to her cottage. Which was less of a cottage and more of a hut, but that was neither here nor there. It was home, and that's what mattered to her. She had labored tirelessly when she first arrived at the edge of the Forest seven years ago, fresh from the Eastern Wastelands.

_This home shall be my castle,_ she mused when she worked feverishly to finish it. After she had finished, she had worked on a vegetable garden, but building a small cowshed had to wait another year. She had built her homestead from scratch, and she was proud of it. _Even,_ she thought sourly as she got up to scoot her bed over, _when the roof leaks on top of me while I sleep._

She grunted as she inched the bed away from the leak, then when she was satisfied with its position, she grabbed a bowl to catch the water. As she set the bowl down, the shutters to the window in her one room hut banged open. She jumped to close it before rain could pour in, but as she clutched at the shutters to draw them close, she happened to look up and see movement from the cowshed. Tulip, her aged but mild mannered cow, shouldn't have been up then, and certainly she wouldn't be wandering in from the storm then. Frowning thoughtfully, Moppet closed the shutters and grabbed her hoe and cloak before she went to investigate.

Having forgot her boots, Moppet huffed as mud gushed up around her ankles while she waded to the cowshed, cloak draped over her head and hoe in hand. She gently opened the door a crack and looked in, glancing warily around. Lighting flashed for a moment, illuminating the inside. She bit her lip when she saw a lump, lying on the fresh hay strewn on the floor. Tulip gazed up at her blandly before looking back down at the prone figure before her, looking as if she was casually pondering its existence like Moppet.

Frowning, Moppet opened the door and stepped in, gripping her hoe tightly. She pondered just locking the person in while she got the authorities there to collect him or her. But the local magistrate was a good half a day walk and that was in good weather. No, she was stuck alone on this one, which if she wasn't so worried at the moment, she would have mused was the problem with living on the edge. Calling up her courage, she took her hoe and tapped the bottom of one of the figure's boots hard.

The person groaned and tried to curl in on himself. Or at least she guessed it was a man, by the sound of the voice. She frowned and stepped back out into the rain to grab a bucket which was already an inch or two full. Pouring the water onto the man's face proved useless however and he barely acknowledged it as she tipped it onto his face. After a few moments, she warily reached out and touched his face. She blinked and rested her wrist against his forehead then cursed; he had monstrous fever.

"Hey," she hissed, shaking his shoulder. "Get up and get off my land." Still no response; she rocked back on her heels as she tried to think. She could just leave him there, but he'd probably be dead by the chill when morning came. She couldn't just leave him there to die all alone in her cowshed; _besides_, she tried to cover her soft-heartedness, _I'd have to bury him if he died._ And digging in soggy ground was not fun by any stretch of the imagination.

She had to leave her hoe in the shed and her cloak tried valiantly to fall off them as she nearly dragged him inside her house. Now she was splattered up to her knees with muck and he was half encrusted himself. She got the fire going in the hearth before she pulled him over to it. She mopped at his face and hands with a washcloth, trying to clean him up. She tugged off his boots and his filthy coat, but only stopped just a moment to look at his face clear in the flickering light of the fire.

She realized that her "guest" was not a man, but a boy barely any older than herself. The crackling fire threw shadows over his face, so it was hard to grasp his looks properly but Moppet supposed that he was not as handsome as some, but he was homely. He had fine, blond hair, despite the fact it was half caked in mud. He wore good, if not flat out expensive, looking clothes and she had noticed the quality of the leather of his boots. _Not a simple peasant…perhaps some member of the local gentry, but who is he?_

She frowned and pressed the wet cloth against his brow to try and break his fever. She didn't bother to attempt sleeping for the rest of the night; she didn't imagine she could actually rest with some stranger in her house anyway. It was only after dawn that she dozed with her head propped on the table, nestled in her arms. She awoke a few hours later though to a loud groan. For a moment, she had forgotten her guest and nearly went back to sleep before her memories came back and sleep fled.

He wasn't awake however, he was still battling his fever, but if he could thrash as much as he was now, then she supposed he might have regained some strength. Still, he did not wake for another day and a half. She found him awake after she came in from feeding Tulip, when she had ducked inside to find her hoe to work in her garden. She realized he was gazing at her, albeit sleep and fever still fogged his eyes. After a moment, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep once more. As Moppet grabbed her hoe to hurry to her garden, she couldn't help but remember the cerulean color of his eyes.

He didn't really wake up until later that night when she was still was almost ready for bed. He coughed dryly and Moppet looked over to see him gazing at the shadows the flames made on the ceiling. She walked over and peered down at him while his eyes flicked about. "Are you awake?" she asked loudly.

He blinked and focused on her. "Where…?" he tried, but his throat was so dry he coughed too harshly to finish his sentence. She poured him a cup of water and he drank ravenously from it when she touched the cup to his lips. "Where am I?" he tried again.

Moppet blinked and put the cup aside. "You're in my house, at the edge of the Black Forest," she explained as she soaked a wash cloth in the icy rain water before ringing out the cloth and pressing it to his forehead. "You've been asleep two days already—I found you passed out in my cowshed."

"Huh. Sorry about that," he rasped. "I wasn't quite thinking straight."

She hummed quietly and he quickly fell back asleep. He was still asleep when she woke up the next morning, but she found him sitting up when she returned with a bucket of milk, compliments of Tulip. He blearily looked at her as he clutched his head. "Good morning," she greeted him warily.

"Did you happen to see the driver of the carriage that ran over my head?" he asked in a tight voice.

Her lips quirked up in spite of herself. "No. Are you getting up now?"

"Do I _have_ to?" he asked.

"Would you like some cheese to go with that whine?"

"What?"

She rolled her eyes and cut a hunk of bread for him to eat. "You're not from around here. Are you from the Capital then?" she asked, but frowned as he choked on bit of bread.

"Wh-why do you think I'm from the Capital?" he asked after he caught his breath again.

She raised an eyebrow. "Because everyone's trying to flee the Capital. And your clothes look like they come from there."

He coughed and thumped his chest to help himself. "I, uh, well, yeah. I am."

She rapped her fingernails against the tabletop for a moment during the silence that followed a she thought. He didn't seem eager to keep up the line of conversation, but she supposed that it didn't really matter. "Look, I don't mind visitors, but if you stay here longer, I'd like to know who it is that I'm having over."

"Oh, I, um, sorry. My name's—Skub," he blurted.

Moppet blinked at him. "…Skub?"

He shifted (uneasily?) on the cot she'd placed him on. "Yeah…my parents…"

She waited for him to finish but he never did. "I'm Moppet," she said, making him blink. "And that cow you were sleeping with is Tulip."

He cringed. "Cow?"

"I did tell you I found you in my cowshed," she smiled. He groaned and would have flopped back on the bed, but even that took more energy than he wanted to expend. She shook her head at him and walked over to the table to pour herself of water. "So then, Skub, just what were you doing, wandering around in the middle of a storm so that you ending up trying to sleep with my cow?"

Skub grimaced at her wording. "I was just looking for somewhere to sleep for the night. I didn't mean any harm, really. I was tired and already pretty sick I guess," he sighed, shifting about under the blanket she had put over him during his first night. "I am really sorry about barging in like that, though." Moppet blinked at his soft tone and glanced over at him; his eyes were already closed and he was drifting off before her. "If I had known…I would have…"

He was asleep before he could finish. Moppet stared curiously at his profile and wondered if he was still ill, or just plain worn out from his illness. With a sigh, she grabbed her bucket to stow in the cool dirt "cellar" she had dug beneath her house. As she walked out the door to leave, she paused and looked back to his sleeping face. He hadn't eaten for awhile, she mused, and it was starting to show. _I'll have to try and get something on his stomach soon,_ she decided before she turned and left.

And thus began the long period in which Moppet decided to take care of Skub without really sitting down to wonder why she was helping him at all. The next time he woke up, she made him eat even when he had to fight to keep it down. But in due time, he was recovering nicely. For some reason, he got it in his head that he should try and help out to pay her back at least partially; Moppet swore she had _no_ idea where he got it from, none what so ever, yeah.

For the first few weeks, after he recovered at least, Moppet really didn't much about her houseguest that she didn't already know or guess. Sometimes he would say something or did something that made her wonder if he wasn't from higher class gentry, or perhaps low stationed nobility. The way he would cut a steak, the way his hands were soft and fumbled at a hoe, the way he would address her with perfected politeness, all of it made him look like a person from a higher rung then Moppet herself. But still, he was eager to learn if it would please her, and for once she thought it was nice to have real company, not just an old cow.

Most days they wore themselves out with their respective chores, and most nights they flopped down upon their respective bedding after bidding each other a fond goodnight. Until a steady rainstorm crept upon them, forcing them to stay inside, they rarely had deep conversations. The night it blew in, the roof leaked and Skub helped Moppet move the bed closer to the fire, and out of the rain. Moppet, wasn't sure how long they had been laying down before she offered to let Skub under the sheets with her, but she remembered his hands and feet were like ice.

"Thanks," he whispered, trying to rub life back into his hands.

"Don't mention it," she replied before taking his hands in hers. Their touches burned until dawn; but no happiness last forever, and when the new month came, so did a routine of soliders who called 'Skub' Toby or 'your highness'.

Skub—Toby—he looked stricken as he tried to explain. "It's not what you think."

Moppet blinked. "I'll say—I was just thinking you were a strange noble on the run from the illness and famine. Instead I find you're a prince hiding from your duty."

Toby winced. "Okay. It is what you think." Moppet nearly smiled. "But wasn't why I left."

"Well, I can't _wait_ to hear the real reason."

"Sir," interrupted one of the guards to their displeasure. "The king demands you return immediately."

"It can wait," Toby snapped at the guard.

Moppet sighed. "Nevermind—you can explain it on the way."

Toby blinked. "I can?"

"He can?" asked the guard.

Moppet nodded. "Yes. It'll give you a chance to practice anyway," she said, one hand resting gently on her stomach.

Toby didn't undrestand at first, but then he grinned. "Oh. Oh."

Moppet did smile.

The guard, however, frowned. "Explain what?"


	27. Poor Unfortunate Souls

Remember Toby's warning to the goblins in "Tampon" or "Won't Go Home Without You"? Yeah, there's a reason for that…

**Prompt: "Coffee"**

* * *

"Alright, on the count of three. One."

"Twoooo."

Toby blinked sleepily. "Wuh…?"

"Three!"

Suddenly, Toby was bounced straight off his bed, nearly clipping his nightstand with the back of his head. He blinked, stunned, as he laid in a heap on the floor before he turned to look at his bed. Ashley, Daniel, and Stank looked down at him with wide, surprised eyes. "Guys…" he began, "…was that really necessary?"

All three of them grinned, and began to jump happily on his bed. "Oh, like you didn't need it," Hana huffed as she fluttered around his head. "You needed to get up anyways."

"I bet Jareth was never woken up by people jumping on his bed," Toby grumbled, getting up.

"Jareth didn't keep children around anyway," Hana pointed out.

"Whatever—guys!" he shouted at the still jumping trio. "Why did you wake me up so early—isn't it still dark out?"

Ashley stopped suddenly, making Daniel crash into Stank to avoid her. She ignored her brother and the young Rock Caller as they thrashed about, trying to free themselves, as she put her little fists against her hips. "You forgot? You promised to take us maying, Toby."

Toby blinked. "Maying?"

Hana landed on his shoulder, and whispered into his ear. "That's what the goblins call it—you go out early, and pick flowers for May Day, remember?"

Toby frowned before recognition flickered across his face. "Oh, jeez, that's right—sorry, guys, I'm not quite awake just yet." This seemed to satisfy Ashley, who smiled quite happily at him until her brother knocked her off the bed as he and Stank tumbled about. Only Toby's quick reflexes, honed from hours of studying fencing with Sir Didymus, stopped her from crashing face first into the floor. "Okay, guys, that's enough," he declared, yanking Stank up and free of Daniel. "I need to get dressed, so if you don't mind…?"

"Fine," Daniel panted, resting for a moment before he got up, grabbed his sister's hand, and hurried out the door. Hana then led Stank out; before she left Toby called out to her.

"Hey, Hana, mind doing me a favor, and go get Moppet up?" he called, pulling his shirt he slept in off.

"Why should—bah, I'll trick some goblins into doing it," she grumbled before flying out.

Toby shook his head in amusement then returned to undressing himself. By the time he was almost finished dressing, he heard a loud commotion outside his room. "Oh, what now?" he asked, pulling his boots on before quickly stumbling out the door.

The minute he stepped out, Ashley and Daniel latched onto his sides, Stank cowered on his boots, and Hana flew quickly behind his head. "Stampede," she yelled, ducking behind him. True to her word, a large group of goblins ran past.

"What on earth is going on here?" Toby asked, pressing back to avoid getting run in to. As the goblins fled out of the hall, Toby turned to look down the corridor. "What happened?"

"I don't know, I sent them to go get Moppet and-"Hana tried, but there was loud yell, and then a goblin flew out from Moppet's door, got up, and ran to join its fellows. "And then Moppet screamed, and they ran screaming. Like that."

"What's going on?" Ashley asked, pulling on Toby's sleeve. Daniel hazarded a chance at leaning out past Toby's front to look over at Moppet's door.

"…stay here," Toby ordered, gently brushing their hands aside. He stepped over Stank, heading slowly to Moppet's door. When he reached the door, he hesitantly turned the knob. He peeked inside before opening the door—when he did, a vase flew at his head. He shut the door just in time; as he stumbled backwards from the door, he heard Moppet scream.

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO COME IN HERE," she yelled.

Toby gaped. "Mo-Mo-Moppet?" he stuttered.

After scandalized moment of silence, Moppet opened her door to peek out at him. "…To…by?"

He blinked owlishly. "…what happened?" he asked, getting up, and moving towards the door again. "Are you okay? Did something happ-?"

"No," she squeaked, slamming the door shut.

Toby paused, shocked at her brusque manner. "Umm…are you…sure?"

"Yes."

"…I could come in there you want and-"

"NO!" She sounded beyond mortified, but Toby couldn't think of a strong enough word to put to her tone.

Toby turned slowly, and looked back at the others. Not only were they standing there gawking at him, the group of goblins had returned as well. "Hey, um, guys," he said, waving the goblins closer. "Can one of you come here, and explain what this is about?" They all looked at each other, but one finally made to step to him.

"No, don't-" Moppet screamed, throwing open the door. The moment she did, all the blood in his body rushed to Toby's face (and to a point much further south on his body), and Moppet squeaked in mortification, having seen her state of complete undress, slamming her door shut.

Toby staggered back, gaping at the door. "…oh," he muttered finally, getting what had happened. "Ah…Moppet…why are you…?"

"They…they…opened the door without knocking…and I couldn't-"

Toby glanced quickly away from the door. "I…see." He coughed politely, and turned back to the goblins. "From now on, you must, _must_ knock before entering Moppet's, or any other girl's, room, do you understand?"

The goblins all nodded, and then abruptly fled.

Toby cleared his throat, and turned back to the others. "Well…why don't we go get some breakfast, and then go—I think we should…leave Moppet alone for awhile. Is that okay, Moppet?" he called through the door.

"Yes," Moppet peeped.

"Right then…let's go then, guys," he said, shepherding them forward. He managed to get them walking ahead when Moppet's voice called him back. "Yes?"

"…thank you…Toby," she muttered, making him strain to hear her.

Toby blushed, and looked away. "Right. See you later."

As he left, Moppet opened her door enough to watch him walk away before she let it quietly click closed.


	28. Hallelujah

Yeah, guys, so let me just say this—WARNING: some dark themes in here that are not appropriate for some readers. Read at your own discretion.

Not as dark as "Rev 20:22" but as a continuation to it, it deals with some sensitive matter. ALSO, yes, I finally get around to saying who did "it" to Moppet.

**Prompt: "Guilt"**

* * *

For three days, Moppet refused to speak to Toby. Not that she spoke to many other people, but Ashley had finally managed to draw a word or two from her. The castle buzzed with curious rumors, pondering the state of their future queen. Even Daniel, who was normally oblivious to such things, asked after her. After the three days she began to talk again, but for those days, Toby had alternated from sickeningly scared and monstrous angry. He had tried not to take it out on others, but still his sharp tongue cut deeply. When Moppet finally spoke to him again, he nearly sang in relief.

She walked into the dining hall, looking terribly uneasy as she took her seat next to his. "Good morning," she mumbled.

Toby almost put his elbow into the butter. "Guh-good morning to you, too," he replied.

Moppet smiled, but he didn't even bother to care that she probably thought he was being a dork again. For the rest of the day and for the coming few as well, Toby was too relieved that she was apparently recovered to even broach the subject of her nightmare.

But even the calm has to give way to the storm, so Toby regretfully pulled Moppet aside one evening. "Moppet," he began, already hating himself, "we need to talk—about the nightmare."

Moppet became very still. "There's…no reason to. I haven't had any more since then and-"

Toby reached out to her, but pulled up short when he saw her flinch. For a moment, neither of them spoke—Toby too pained, Moppet too regretful. He drew his arm back, and cradled it, as if to comfort himself. "Moppet, if I can look inside your dreams, and see who it is, I can try, and stop this from happening again. Please say yes."

She bit her lip. "I'll…sleep on it."

Toby nodded, and both of them stood there awkwardly before she pressed past him, fleeing. Toby closed his eyes, and tried to keep from crying. Instead, he formed a crystal in his hand, and then hurled it at the wall. As he watched the shards topple down, he glared, unappeased by the crystal's destruction.

* * *

Toby didn't have to wait long for her answer though; it was midnight when Moppet returned to their room for the first time in days. He sat up to get up, but she dropped down onto the other side of the bed, and looked at him.

"Please," she began, and he nearly jumped, ready to do anything, literally _anything_ for her. "Make them stop. Please."

Toby slowly eased himself up, exaggerating every gesture so she wouldn't spook, and run.

"I want to sleep so much. Please, Toby, make them go away."

It nearly broke him to see tears in her eyes; it took all his will power to not cup her cheeks, and rain kisses down on her face. Instead, he formed a crystal in his hand, and then gently pressed it against her forehead. "I'm so sorry," he barely breathed.

"Please," she whispered, her cheeks wet.

_And then Toby was there, in the dream study, where Moppet laid down on the spare cot they kept there, her face troubled. A figure separated from the shadows, creeping towards his fiancée. At first, she enjoyed the figure's touch, and called it by his name. But then, shadows swirled around Moppet's wrists like a vice, and Moppet's eyes fluttered open. "Da-"_

_Toby nearly lost all control as the figure defiled his beautiful, beautiful, _c r y i n g_ Moppet. Before the dream ended, the figure paused, glancing up to Toby, and the Goblin King froze._

Toby jerked the crystal away so sharply, he nearly tossed it over his shoulder. Moppet's eyes widened, but she was frozen, tears sliding slowly down her face.

Toby finally reached up, and wiped her face clean. "There will be no more dreams," he swore quietly.

Moppet believed him.

* * *

Ashley fought the urge to bury her face in Erin's shoulder as she watched Toby speaking to Daniel. In his hand, the Goblin King held a crystal with the damning evidence of a dream that had all the earmarks of Daniel's own signature. Ashley could make Moppet out from the shadows of one of the balconies from the upper floor, which was usually empty unless the whole of the Goblin City had tried to squeeze into the court room. They nearly all had, everyone had wanted to see the sentencing of the most reviled criminals since Mizumi and her planned coup. But only a handful was allowed to see her brother's final judgment; Ashley picked Hoggle, Ludo, and Mayor Spittledrum out from the crowd. (Sir Didymus would have also been in the throng, if it weren't for the fact that the fox terrier was hell bent on murdering Daniel.)

Ashley was too busy looking elsewhere that she nearly missed Toby's proclamation. But when her brother's eyes flickered over to her in desperation, Ashley crushed Erin's hand in her own, and stared at the floor.

"I henceforth strip you of all titles and powers, and sentence you to be imprisoned in an inescapable oubliette, far beneath the Bog of Eternal Stench. You will remain there until your death, or in—the highly, highly unlikely—chance that I change my mind. Which I won't," Toby added. "And, let it be known, if it weren't for the fact I am king, and therefore a moral example to my people, I would destroy you myself. Your sentence is to be carried out immediately. There will be no chance of appeal."

Toby created a new crystal, and held this one up, setting the crystal dream aside. He paused only for a moment.

"I should have never taught you magic," he whispered, then the crystal glowed.

Daniel screamed, and white light poured from him, towards the crystal until the ball shown like a bright star, and he dropped like a puppet with its strings cut. Toby crushed the crystal, expelling the magic, and Daniel vanished as well.

Toby looked soberly at the spot where his pupil had fallen, but then drifted upward to his fiancée's face. "He will never be given another chance to hurt anyone of my people, ever again. That is all." Then he sat, looking older, and weaker than Jareth had, even at his weakest.

Ashley heard the others in the room get up to leave. "I'm glad Courtney—Nippericka-" she corrected quickly, remembering her sister's goblin name, "never believed we were her siblings. She doesn't need to live with the shame."

Erin squeezed her hand. "He was my best friend," he reminded her gently. "He was Toby's student. No one could have foreseen this."

Ashley scrunched her eyes shut. "I know. But someone should have."

Erin looked away. "Yes. Someone should have."


	29. Lonely Moon

I've been staring at that propechy in the comic for awhile—here's an idea I had about what might happen to Toby in the coming comics.

I might repost this to my journal, just so I can get my formatting back.

**Prompt: "Night Wind"**

* * *

_In the spaces between dreams, are we truly alive?_

He had been sleeping for longer than he could remember. He often wondered if he had ever been awake at all—all he had were the endless dreams, the brief periods of deep, empty sleep, and then once in a great while, he felt himself near consciousness, almost aware. He tried sometimes to remember if there was anything more to his existence than just eternal sleep and constant dreams, but he never could pinpoint anything in the slivers of memories he sifted through his mind. The only information he could be sure of were his half lucid dreams.

Most often in his dreams, certain faces appeared over and over again. The most common one was that of a woman. Her face was never too clear, but he intuitively knew it was one woman. She had long dark hair, and most often her eyes were often hidden behind a pair of glasses.

_What are you hiding from?_

Another face he often saw was a man's pale faces, eyes full of mockery. Whether the mockery was at him or at himself, he wished he could ask. But when the man's face was looking away from him, he could see a glimmer of loneliness, or what he guessed was loneliness.

_Is existence so painful you must hide from the ones you want to be near?_

The other faces and figures that came to him in his dreams were both ghoulish and comforting. They smiled, laughed, and cried, reaching for him desperately. And he wished he could reach back; these faces came to him in the times he swore he was nearly awake. There were no names he could find to attach to them, but as he drifted from dream to dream, he would grasp at their images in his mind like broken glass.

_Or are you too afraid to even to know what you really want?_

One face however, one that he had only seen once, stayed with him since the first time he had seen it. It was another female face, but unlike all the others, this face was painfully clear, sharp and distinct. Pale hair and dark hair, but the eyes, green eyes, green as all good growing things, they bore into his soul. She looked so sad, and for a moment, he felt that she must have been as lonely as he.

**It's scary. But I want to be near you.**

**Do you know my name?**

_**I want to be with you.**_

_**I'm waiting.**_


	30. I Won't Walk Away

**Prompt: "Secret Meeting"**

**

* * *

**

A loud ringing echoed through the building as the day ended, prompting Toby to jolt awake. Blearily, he looked around and finally sat up, yawning so wide his jaw popped. He got up, and stretched before he began to shove his books, pencils, and notebook into his bag. He shouldered his bag, and groggily followed his fellow students out of the classroom. He made a quick stop at his locker to swap a few books, and grab his coat. As he shut his locker, he blinked slowly in recognition that someone had stuck a Christmas tree decal on his locker—one of the custodians or teachers must have done it, he supposed.

The brick wind finally woke him up, making him pull the lapels of his coat closer to his chin. Gritting his teeth so they wouldn't chatter, he ran a little faster as he hurried home. _Has the trip always taken so long?_ he wondered as he rounded a corner. He was chilled to the bone, but then his house came into view, and relief coursed through his veins.

He brushed the snow from his hair, and tossed his bag next to the door. "Hello?" he called out, but when no one called back, he paused for a moment before grinning wickedly. He spared only a moment to kick off his shoes before he raced up to his room.

Jamming the power button onto his computer, Toby suddenly remembered that he still had his damp coat on. Not wanting to go back downstairs to hang his coat up properly, he tossed it at the foot of his bed, planning to take it down later.

_After I get some time on K.O.G. in that is, _he smiled as his computer finished loading. He clicked on the _Kingdom of Goblins_ icon, and settled more comfortably as it loaded up. He watched patiently through the opening graphics of his game. A moment after he logged in, the main menu appeared. As it popped up, there was a chime and mail graphic flashed too.

_Ooo, mail. Awesome,_ he thought as he clicked on it. There was another chime, and a little card popped up that merely said 3000 "dollars".

"Who keeps giving me free money?" he asked, frowning. He exited out of the mail, and clicked the PLAY button on the menu. "I really should thank them one day. Whoever they are."

* * *

Moppet paused, leaning back in her chair. _I hope that you can use that for something you want, Toby,_ she mused, exiting out of the game.

"So, it _was_ you."

Moppet started then turned to see Sarah leaning against the door frame. She blinked, and then hurriedly shut the laptop. "I just…wanted to try to give something he might enjoy."

Sarah smiled sympathetically—or was it empathetically?—at her doppelganger. "I can understand that, but we need to let him remember first."

Moppet frowned, glancing away.

"But you know," Moppet blinked and looked back up at Sarah's amused look, "I won't tell, if you don't."

Moppet blinked then smiled. She turned back, and ran a hand fondly over the laptop. _Toby, I'm waiting._

_Whenever you're ready, I'll be waiting._


	31. Call Me

I am really REALLY thinking about continuing this as a full length fic, with Sarah/Jareth, Moulin, and everyone else. I just don't know if anyone would read it. o_o Also, sorry for being late, we lost power for a while.

**Prompt: "Cigarettes"**

* * *

"Is the sound check good? Williams? …Yo, Williams!"

Toby blinked, and looked up to see who was calling him. Fletcher raised his eyebrows at him pointedly, and Toby grinned cheekily. "Yeah, boss. We're good to go."

"Beautiful," Fletcher smiled blissfully. "Keep it up, Williams, and try not to zone during the show, okay?"

"Got it, boss," Toby answered, standing up. He stretched his arms above his head as he headed to his spot, reaching for his guitar.

"What's up with you, Toby?" Dave asked as he took one last long pull from his water bottle before his stowed it behind his drums, out of sight from the audience.

"You seem out of it," Lisa added, as she adjusted the microphone in front of her.

"Sorry, sorry," Toby yawned. "Pulled an all nighter trying to get an English paper done before nine this morning."

"Lovely, Williams," Fletcher rebuked him, as he checked the cables leading out of his keyboard one last time. "Try to wait until we finish before passing out, will you?"

"Yes, sir," he answered smartly, making the band leader frown at him.

Fletcher shook his head, making his dreadlocks swing around his shoulders. "Lisa, you ready?"

She dragged a long note out of her guitar in response. The audience began to clap and whistle excitedly.

Fletcher rolled his eyes, and turned to look at Dave and Toby. They both nodded, Dave waving a drumstick in the air, Toby smiling sleepily above his bass guitar. The maniac glee that only appeared before a show sprang to life in Fletcher's eyes in response, and he turned with a bewitching smirk forward. "Let's kick some ass." The audience, however meagre it was for the night club they were playing tonight, was excited, and pressed forward to cheer for them. "Good evening, Richford! We're The Underground Knights."

Toby grinned as the audience really went wild. With one last grin to the others, he waited for Lisa to strike the first few chords before he began to sing. For the rest of the concert, Toby lost himself in the blissful haze he always found himself in when he sang and played. It was far too soon for his taste when he finally trailed off, letting Fletcher finish their last song.

The crowd cheered happily, too spent to work themselves up further. Toby smiled sympathetically to them as Fletcher said good night to them. But Toby didn't have time to muse on it long though, as he had to quickly help the others get their instruments off the stage in time for the next band to come on.

"Not a bad performance."

Toby blinked, and looked over his shoulder; standing behind him, Moulin Rivers idly waited with her bass guitar as her band began to set up their own instruments. "Thanks, Moulin. …I guess that means a lot coming from you."

Moulin distractedly tapped her cigarette so that the ash fell off it. Toby raised a brow—this was a non-smoking place, but then Moulin got away with stuff that if he tried would have gotten him and everyone else in trouble. She began to tune her guitar. "You are staying for the next performer?" It was less a question, and almost more of a subtle demand.

Toby stared at the blue haired girl. "Come again?"

"The next performer. You should stay for her," Moulin advised, adjusting a knob.

Toby's jaw flapped unflatteringly. "Are you asking me out on…" he didn't even bother to finish that sentence.

She glared up at him. "You should stay for it. Now get off the stage, it's our turn."

He realized that the rest of her band was waiting for him to leave, so he ran to other side of the stage, his face hot with embarrassment as his band members laughed at him teasingly. "Oh shut up," he hissed, tried to fight back his blush.

"Do any of you want to go get some drinks after this?" Lisa asked, trying to draw attention away from him.

"Sure," Fletcher said while Dave murmured noises of agreement. "What about you, Williams? Up for some drinks?"

Toby paused, glancing back over his shoulder to Moulin and the rest of the band on stage. "…nah, I wanted to hang around for the other performers."

"Whatever," laughed Lisa, but Dave looked too amused.

"Dude, how hard up are you on that girl?" he asked, nodding to Moulin. "You know she's a skirt chaser."

"She is, really?" Fletcher asked. "I thought that was just a gimmick or something."

"I'm not staying for Moulin," Toby tried to explain, feeling his face heat back up. "She was telling me to listen to the next performer. I want to see what's got _Moulin_ of all people worked up."

"Damn," Fletcher murmured. "Maybe we should stay for a bit."

"Dude," Dave frowned. "_Beer?_ Don't loose focus now."

The rest of them snickered at them, but after a bit, the rest of Toby's band waved him goodbye, so he sunk out into the crowd as Moulin and her group finished. He found a chair finally, only to see Moulin herself moving to join him. Remembering his friends' taunts, his face warmed a little as she took a seat next to him. "So, who is this person you wanted me to see?" Toby shouted above the crowd.

Moulin blinked lazily at him, and lit a new cigarette. "Wait."

Toby frowned, and glanced up at the stage. _Must be some new bassist_, he decided. That was the only thing Toby could think of; he was shocked when a young, darkly tanned, blonde woman walked out, and quickly sat up a keyboard. Toby looked in confusion at Moulin. Irrationally, Toby thought back to his friends' words, and wondered if Moulin had tricked him into watching her new girlfriend's performance, completely missed hearing the performer's name. "What's so great about this chick-"

He never got a chance to go on. The girl began to sing, and the crowd fell silent in an instant to catch her soft words. Her voice was soft, and a little low, perhaps an alto-tenor, Toby mused distractedly as he watched her sing.

"Holy fuck," he finally managed.

Moulin forgot her cigarette for a moment, and Toby realized he wasn't the only who felt nailed to the floor. After a bit, he joined with the crowd's loud exclamations of approval, but fell silent when she began the next song. Finally after a few more songs, Toby rose with the crowd, clapping wildly. Glancing to his side, he found Moulin lighting another smoke, this time looking less like a gotta-have-my-nicotine-fix cigarette, and more of a I-just-had-awesome-sex smoke.

"Who," he began, drawing his face close to hers, so she couldn't escape answering him, "was that?"

Moulin raised a brow, and smirked. "Do you want to meet her?"

Toby croaked "Yes."

Moulin got up, and then surprisingly wrapped her fingers around his wrist to drag him along. Toby would have been more excited to have Moulin initiate contact with him, but he was too distracted watching the blonde girl walking off the stage. Toby let Moulin drag him backstage, towards where Toby could see a pale head of hair.

"Moppet," Moulin began, drawing the girl's attention. "Toby," she explained, jerking her head back to him.

The girl blinked in surprise, taken aback by the blunt introduction. "I, uh, am pleased to meet you…Toby, was it?"

"Same," Toby grinned, knowing he looked like a fool, but enjoying shaking the smooth hand of one of the most fantastic singers he'd ever met. "You were beyond awesome."

Moppet blushed a bit, smiling at him. "Thank you. I saw you earlier too—you were _really_ good yourself."

Toby wished he could think of something brilliant he could say, something to impress her. "Trust me. You were better."

Moulin blew a thick ring of smoke between to remind that she was there. They turned, looking at her in surprise. "Do you remember what I asked earlier, Moppet?"

Moppet blinked, going a bit red herself. "Oh, about the recording—I…yes. I would love to."

Moulin nodded. "Good." She turned, and looked dead at Toby, sending a shiver down his back. "I want you and her to join me on a recording."

Toby blinked owlishly. "Come again?"

"Me and the others got an offer to record a CD. I want you and Moppet to join us," she said shortly.

Toby stared at her like she'd grown a second head before finally choking out "Why_ me?"_

Moulin looked amused as she took a long drag off her smoke. "Cause you're good. Now, yes or no?"

Toby glanced from her to Moppet. Moppet, he found, looked flustered on his account. Suddenly, he felt his decision form in a moment. "Yes."

Moulin nodded. "Good. I'll call you with the details later," she said brusquely, then turned on her heel, and left the two of them staring after her.

"Did she…" Toby blinked, and looked at Moppet as she began to speak. "Did she just tell you about all this?"

"That was the first I heard of it," he answered, still a little shell-shocked. "Moulin…she's never even hinted at something like that before." He frowned._ Hell, she's barely said two words to me before tonight._

Moppet looked sympathetic. "Moulin does tend to just drop bombshells like that," she murmured, and after a moment, she dug into her keyboard's carrying case, and pulled out a small notebook and pen.

She jotted something down, and handed it to Toby; he saw it was her name, and telephone number.

She smiled sweetly at him. "We should talk if we're going to be doing something like this together, right?" she said, offering him the paper.

Toby gazed at it for a moment. "Ye-yeah. We should," he tried to smile back at her. "We should go out for…coffee or something, I don't know, and…talk about it."

She nodded. "We should," she agreed, shutting her case. "Call me then."

"I will," he called after her as she left. Toby paused to look down at the number.

Then promptly cussed when he realized he didn't give her his number in return. Then he quickly began to grin, pulling out his cell phone. _Well, I just can't let her go with out letting her not know mine, right? And if we happen to set up a date while I'm at it, that wouldn't be too weird, now would it? _he smirked mischievously.


	32. Silent Night

You know what's underused? Present tense. (And Second POV, but I digress.) Also, title refers to the song "Silent Night" by Damien Rice. Yes, there's a difference.

Merry Christmas, y'all.

**Prompt: "Love"**

* * *

Sometimes he wonders if anything is worth it.

Then Toby feels horrible for thinking that, but still the thought comes back to him. Was it worth it? To lose his family, home, past, or his freedom? Was being king worth the loss?

Is she worth it?

That thought is even more terrible than the first. Whenever he thinks it, he tries to find a way to make it up to her, even though Moppet gives him a befuddled look whenever he tries. Usually, he gives her some trinket—a flower, a ribbon, a day off—but still on the days when the thoughts plague him to the point where he can't find the strength to get out of bed, he wonders about it. When that happens, she usually crawls in next to him, and waits until he's ready before gently tugging him out.

Is she worth it?

Sometimes he knows—not wonders, but _knows_—that they will not last, much in the same way Sarah and Jareth cannot last. They are too different, but more importantly, they are too similar. This is the thought that usually forces him out of bed. _We can make it work if we try_, he rationalizes, but really, he knows.

Nothing this good could last.

_But for now,_ he thinks, taking her hand in his before she pulls him out of bed, _I'll just enjoy it while I can._


	33. Two of a Kind, Workin' on a Full House

**Prompt: "Candy"**

* * *

Sarah enjoyed teaching English to her junior class; unlike the freshman and sophomores who either were too tired, or too affected by their hormones to pay attention, or unlike the seniors who only wanted to get out of high school _now_, juniors were at the "happy medium" stage. There was only one problem with teaching the juniors in her English class—her class was the last before lunch. Students would start off strong then get hungry and whining by the end of class.

She couldn't win for losing really.

But usually she let them out early so they could get a head start on the other classes in the lunch lines, so she also left earlier to go eat lunch in her office.

Today, when Sarah entered her office, she found a surprise group of guests.

"Mommy," exclaimed her son, Tucker, hoping off the lap which belonged to her brother's fiancée. Sarah scooped him up into her arms after she dropped her stack of papers, folder, and book on to her desk. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, sweet heart," she said, even though they had only been apart nearly five hours. She looked over at her other son, slouched sullenly in his uncle's lap. She raised a brow, and looked from Toby to Moppet back to her son. "You know, I love seeing you two, but you and the kids could have waited at home for me."

Toby shrugged, and rubbed one of Cody's—Tucker's twin brother—shoulders. "I come when I'm called. Right, Cody boy?"

Cody grumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "I hate that name", but not at his usual volume. Sarah frowned, and sat Tucker down before moving over to his side.

"Is something wrong, Cody?"

"_No_," he answered lowly.

"Then why is uncle Toby here?"

Tucker tugged at her pant leg. "I called him," he confessed, then looked down, shuffling his feet.

Sarah shot a confused look at Toby who looked pointedly down at Cody. Moppet had reached out to rub Cody's knee comfortingly, but he showed little response to it. "Okay, _what_ did you do that you needed your uncle to come fix?"

"I didn't have to fix anything," Toby interrupted, but fell silent at her stony look. "Honest. I just—"

"—picked them up from school," Moppet supplied him.

Toby grinned while Sarah shot her future sister-in-law an accusatory look. "Yes, exactly. Thanks, Mop."

"Alright," Sarah said slowly, trying again. "Why did they need you to pick them up—wait, why didn't Jareth pick them up?" She frowned. "Does Jareth even know he doesn't need to pick them up now?"

Toby paused. "…Oh, ah, do you mind if I borrow your phone to warn him now?"

Sarah groaned, got out her cell phone, and dialled Tucker and Cody's elementary school's number; Jareth never could get the hang of phones enough to give him a cell phone. Toby handed his nephew over to Moppet, and wandered a bit away to talk to (the now harried) secretary (who Jareth was grilling for information about his sons), leaving Cody to his mother's wrath.

"Well, someone _answer_ me," Sarah demanded.

Tucker once again spoke up. "He got in a fight."

"_Tucker-"_ Cody snapped, betrayed. He might have lunged at his brother if Moppet hadn't kept a good hold of him.

"Cody!" Sarah hissed. "Again?"

"It wasn't my fault," Cody insisted. "They started it!"

"It's true, mom. David Collins and Ian Smith tried to push off his swing before it was their turn," Tucker explained.

Sarah pressed a hand to her suddenly aching head, trying to ignore the shouting now coming from her cell phone on the other side of the room. Apparently Jareth had realized his brother-in-law was on the line, and was now voicing his extreme displeasure at the top of his voice. _I don't need this right now,_ she thought sourly.

"Toby," she groaned. "Give it here." Obediently, he handed the phone over, and sat back down, rubbing his much abused ear. Moppet spared a moment of attention from Cody to reach over, and pat his shoulder sympathetically. After a few tense words, Sarah ended the call, and glared at both the children. "Your father will be here in ten minutes. You can explain to him about your fight _and_ about the fact you abused your powers _again_ to call on your uncle to get out of trouble." She ignored their protests, and pointed with her phone at Toby. "And _you_. Stop answering those calls to get them out of trouble! It's hard enough disciplining them when you're constant sweeping them away somewhere."

Toby frowned. "I'm not 'sweeping' them away, I don't even let them out of the castle grounds when they call me!"

Sarah's knuckles went white around the phone, and it made an eerie cracking noise. "Don't. Try. Me. Now."

Toby wilted. "Yes, ma'am." Moppet stifled a giggle at his expense.

"Alright," Sarah said after a moment, leaning against her desk. "Since I know your father's going to take care of this little mess, I'll just ignore it—for now," she added quickly. She turned back to her brother. "So, how are you? I haven't seen you since June."

Toby shrugged. "As well as to be expected. Goblins cause mischief, the fairies are trying to ruin the gardens again, and—oh, I almost forgot," Toby laughed, then snapped his fingers. An envelope appeared from thin air, and fell into his awaiting hand.

"Show off," Sarah and Moppet said at once to Toby and his nephew's amusement. He handed the envelope over to Sarah. She spared him and Moppet a glance—they where both squirming a bit—and then opened it with little ceremony. Inside was a simple, elegant little card with nothing on the front, but when she opened it, she grinned. "So, you two've finally set the date, huh?" she asked teasingly before she excitedly reached out to hug them both.

"We couldn't decide when to set it," Moppet explained, fiddling with a crease in her skirt.

Sarah checked the date again, then frowned. "Why are you having it in the dead of winter anyway? Are you guys even going to have time to get this ready?" She looked back to them, and then raised both eyebrows at them.

The were both a bit red in the face, and definitely squirming to Cody and Tucker's amusement. "Well, uh, about that," Toby coughed then snapped his fingers again, and caught another envelopment. He handed it over to her, and she warily took it from him. Again it was simple with a blank face. When she opened the card, her eyes grow wide, and she raised her head up fast enough for it to make a popping noise.

"You're _what?"_ she gasped. Then she paused, and smirked. "Toby, Irene's going to _murder_ you."

Toby went a little pale. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Sar."

"Confidence nothing, I always knew you had it in you, but god knows, I waited until after I was married to have a kid," she grinned playfully, tussling his hair before hugging Moppet again.

"You're gonna have a baby?" Cody exclaimed excitedly.

"Hey, hey, when it'll be born?" Tucker asked, tugging at his uncle's shirt before he climbed up into his lap.

"Maybe March. Or April," Moppet said.

"Or May," Toby added, glowing hotter under Sarah's amused look.

"You don't know when it was conceived?" she giggled.

Moppet coughed, and Toby twitched. "Anyway. Just do me a favor—give this to mom-" he magicked another envelope, and handed it to her, "-and um, keep your mouth shut about the baby until I figure out a way to tell her."

Sarah grinned. "You can take the kids to distract them, tell her, and then duck behind Moppet. Irene'd never hit a pregnant woman, especially one carrying her grandchild."

Toby considered it while Moppet choked. "That's not a very brave thing to do," she finally got out.

Sarah snickered then rolled her eyes. "It's what Jareth did before we had the twins."

That got a laugh out of them. By the time they finished talking, it was time for Jareth to arrive, and for them to leave. With one last goodbye, Sarah watched as they disappeared. Once they were gone, she turned to her children. "Don't for one second think you're out of trouble," she reminded them.

They groaned, and slumped on the couch. Sarah huffed, and hoped darkly that Toby would end up with a trouble maker of his own to keep him busy, and out of her hair when she tried to punish her kids.


	34. The Bravest Man

T-T I tried to write this to make me feel better, but it only helped a teeny bit. Toby, I know how you feel! (Just not about this issue in particular.)

**Prompt: "Guts"**

* * *

Jareth smiled as he watched Toby pace back and forth. "I want you to know, you actually _have_ worn out a patch of the carpet."

"Not helpful," Toby snapped, not pausing. Jareth's shoulders shuddered as he tried not to laugh at his brother-in-law. "I think I'm going to have a heart attack," he moaned, pressing one sweaty palm against his chest.

Jareth raised an eyebrow. "Please don't do that here—Sarah will want to know why the law enforcers are taking away your corpse." He pursed his lips. "And your sister always manages to find the most awkward questions to ask."

"I'm going to die, and you're worried Sarah'll ask you awkward questions?" Toby drawled. "Jareth, if I weren't so wound up, I'd have a snappy retort for you."

Jareth grinned, and rapped his fingers against his chair's arm rest. "Now, now, Toby, you'll get an ulcer at this rate."

Toby moaned, and pressed a hand over his eyes. "I probably already have one! God, why did I wait this long to do this?"

"Myself, Sarah, and your parents have all actually been wondering the same things. I do think Tucker asked once as well."

Toby paused in the middle of the worn out patch of carpet he'd created, and let himself fall with little ceremony to the floor.

"Goodness, please tell me you're not _actually_ having a heart attack now, are you?" Jareth asked, nudging him with the toe of his boot. "Come on, Toby, you've been discourteous enough—wearing out my carpet and all that; at least have the decency to not make me call for an ambulance." He grimaced. "I still don't know how to quite work the phone yet. I'll have to explain to Irene or Robert why I can't, and I _know_ they'll have awkward questions then."

Toby flipped him off to the former Goblin King's amusement.

"I see Sarah's taught you some bad habits—I hope you haven't been tutoring my old goblins in your ways, they were crude enough as they were."

"Shut. Up."

"It speaks!"

There was a quiet knock at the door, and Sarah poked her head into the room. She frowned pointedly at Toby's prone form. "Damn, you mean it was actually too much for him anyway?"

Toby lifted his head to glare at her.

Sarah smiled in a very satisfied way. "Oh, fantastic, you are still conscious."

Behind her, Moppet tried to peek over her shoulder. "Toby, are you going to be alright?"

Toby laid his head back down. "Moppet, love of my life, do me one favor?"

Moppet gently pushed Sarah aside to get into the room, and crouched down next to her fiancé. "What is it, Toby?"

"Kill me."

Moppet patted his head sympathetically. "Sorry, Toby, there's no escaping this."

"Is he ready yet?" Irene yelled up to them.

Sarah walked to the banister, and yelled back down. "He's having one of his panic attacks. Give him a second."

"Does he need a paper bag?" Robert shouted from way in the parlor, where he was cramming in a few more minutes of television. "I think we still have some from the last time he had one." Tucker, Cody, and Sarah and Jareth's daughter, Morgan, all giggled at him.

"Well, tell him he had better be up, and ready in ten minutes," Irene called up. "We want to get good seats."

"I AM DYING," Toby yelled for everyone to hear. "AND ALL YOU CAN THINK ABOUT IS GETTING GOOD SEATS. I hope you get front row seats—to my funeral!"

"You're an adult now, Toby, act like one," Irene chided him before heading into the kitchen.

Sarah turned back to her brother. "She's right, Tobe, get up."

Toby groaned.

"No sympathy," Jareth added gleefully from his seat.

Toby looked desperately up to Moppet.

She shrugged. "Regicide's enough to get the High King to sign my death warrant, love. Besides, how'll I explain to our child why I had to murder you in the first place?"

Toby nearly sobbed into the carpet. "I've changed my mind; I don't want to get my diploma after all!"

Jareth snorted from his chair. "And this is what I left to rule in my stead."

"Inspires great hope, huh?" Sarah grinned.


	35. God Help the Outcasts

A follow up to "Guilt" or "Hallelujah". Yeah, it's been awhile since I went back to this.

**Prompt: "Peace"**

* * *

Moppet had been quite ever since the sentencing; Daniel might have been gone for good, but Toby nearly wept to see the damage he'd left on Moppet still. Weeks crawled by, and while Moppet could be as animated as a situation called for, Toby recognized an almost vacant look to her at times. She had put on a whole new mask, one that hid her so well, many of his subjects never realized they weren't seeing their future queen's true face.

And, if he were to be honest with himself, she wasn't the only one to change; while she portrayed herself as outgoing and vivacious, he drifted further from everyone. He performed his duties displaying a gracious and thoughtful face, lacking his usual enthusiasm. Then, when he found himself a moment of free time, he'd closet himself away in rooms no one thought to check; once he even ducked into a janitor's closet, and hid there until dinner.

They put on a good face for the public—masks that fooled them all—but still there was no mask that could hide them from each other. Despite the fact they rarely spoke privately anymore unless it was about some important business, both of them could see each other's discomfort quite clearly. And neither of them quite knew what to do about it.

With the tension mounting to dizzying heights between them, Toby finally broke down, and came up with a proposal.

He waited until she finally climbed into bed—sleeping was now her least favorite activity in the world, and she waited until she was nearly collapsing to go to bed. He laid on the bed, watching as she finally crept into bed. He reached out, and snagged her wrist, making her flinch.

"Moppet. We have to talk."

"In the morning," she muttered, pulling her wrist away. He bit his lip as she rolled over.

"Do you want to leave me?"

Moppet froze.

"I can't…I don't know how to help you. If leaving could help then…" he floundered. "Just…please. Find something that makes you happy." She never answered him, so finally he rolled over. "Think on it for awhile."

He heard her shifting besides him, but he didn't speak again. He felt her hands fisting up the back of his shirt. "Do you want me to leave?" she whispered.

He swallowed harshly. "Will it make you happy?"

"…maybe. Maybe in a thousand years I'll be happy," she confessed. "Maybe; I don't know. Do _you_ want me to leave?"

He curled his fingers into fists. "No."

She laid her head against his shoulder. She didn't speak again, and when morning came, he found himself alone in his bed. For one terrified moment, he thought she'd left, but as he sat up, he spotted her on the chair across from the bed.

"Hello," he managed, his heart still racing.

"I've decided," she announced, raising her chin.

His heart started racing all over again. "You have?"

She nodded, then cleared her throat. "I'm home."

He blinked.

"And I don't mean 'I'm home' as in this castle is my home," she spoke quickly, and he realized she was near babbling. "I mean, I don't need this castle to be home. What I mean is…you. You are my home." She took a deep breath. "And I'll only leave when you come with me."

Toby barely managed to keep from sobbing in relief, and smiled at her.

She smiled tentatively back.


	36. Dream Away

Much love to my friend, Ali, for giving me suggestions for this chapter. :P

**Prompt: "Dream"**

* * *

There was a new challenger for the Labyrinth—a young girl, Alison, had wished away (of all things) her nearly finished one hundred page college paper. He'd been honestly tempted just to hand it to her—god knows he knew what it was like to lose your homework to goblins—but rules were rules, and if she wanted it back, she was going to have to run for it.

She wasn't half bad as a Runner, considering the pace she set. Helpers were generally only needed when she hit trickier spots of the Labyrinth, although she did make a bad habit of stopping in the middle of a path just to complain to no one (she could see). He and Moppet shared a look of intense amusement when she did so, mainly because of all the other runners, she had done the best, and there she was, wasting precious time.

"You know," Toby mused to her, "I wonder if she's really trying to sabotage herself, or does Labyrinth just trick her into it?"

"I didn't know the Labyrinth could affect people's thoughts," Moppet commented, cocking her head to the side.

"I wouldn't put it past it," he answered, then frowned, and turned to look at the goblins congregating on one side of the throne room. "Where on earth did they get a unicycle from?"

"Hayley sent it."

_But we don't know a Hayley_, he thought, but then he shrugged, and went back to his crystal. When he looked into the crystal, he found that the Wisher had disappeared from view. He didn't have time to think on it long because there was a loud pounding on the door.

"I wonder who that could be?" Moppet mused aloud.

Toby gestured to a pair of goblins to open the door, but when they tried, the doors flew open, smashing them flat as pancakes into the wall. _Oww,_ he thought sympathetically.

It was Alison, and she was riding on the back of an exhausted Wise Man, holding on to his talking hat to steady herself. She hopped off the wizened goblin's back just before he dropped, and stalked over to the throne.

"Oh my," Moppet sighed before he head floated away from her body like a balloon.

"Moppet!" Toby cried up to her. "Get back down here, we have a guest!"

"Sorry, dear," Moppet cooed back down to him, so he sighed, and turned to face the Challenger.

"I've finished your damn Labyrinth, now where's my homework?" Alison shouted, shaking her fist at him as she walked over.

Toby frowned then shrugged. "You know, you could have just re-printed it."

Alison stamped her foot. "I don't care, give it back!"

"Well, I would," he sighed, but then pointed to the floor. "But you are the one who hit the restart button."

Alison looked down to the massive red button on the floor, under her foot. "Oh. So I did."

Toby waved cheerfully as she disappeared, then turned back to his fiancée. "Moppet, who do you get back down here?"

She grinned at him. "You wake up."

* * *

Toby jolted awake, gasping as he sat up. After a moment he caught his breath, and then frowned as he fell back onto his bed. "Moppet, hun, I just had the _weirdest_ dream."

She rolled over. He watched disconcertedly as her head, now tied to a string to her wrist, bobbed around like a helium balloon. "Even weirder this one?" she asked sleepily.

Toby grumbled then pinched himself. Hard.


	37. Little Moments

**Prompt: "Hug"**

* * *

"So, how are the decorations coming?"

Moppet paused for a moment, and glanced over her shoulder as Toby joined her at her side. She smiled in greeting, and they both turned to look up at a goblin who was hanging from a chandelier, having a little too much fun throwing streamers to other goblins attached to pillars as they decorated. "As well as could be expected, I suppose," she giggled as the goblin on the chandelier tossed the streamer too hard, sending it flying past the other goblin who cursed colorfully at him.

"Great, we should be ready by _next_ winter," Toby said, completely straight faced.

Moppet laughed, but quickly paused, her free hand flying up to her stomach.

"Something wrong?" he asked quickly, reaching out to her.

"Oh, it's—nothing. It's just sometimes, I swear, I feel the baby moving around in there," she admitted.

He blinked. "Are you supposed to be able to feel him now?"

She pursed her lips. "I don't know. I guess I'll have to sit down and read that baby book Sarah gave me." She paused, probably trying to think of a time when she would be able to take a break to read it. Finally she shrugged, and turned back to him with a bit of a grin. "So, you're thinking it's going to be a boy?"

Toby's own lips twitched upward. "Well, I figure it's a fifty fifty shot of being right," he snickered.

She shook her head amusedly at him as Toby tossed an arm around her shoulders. For a moment, they bent closer to kiss each other, but a loud crash made them shudder. Looking over, they found the chandelier and the goblin that was on top of it, lying on the ground. They both sighed, and moved forward to clean up the mess.


	38. Farther Along

**Prompt: "Slide"**

* * *

_"What do you think you're doing there, buddy?" Toby asked, laughter coloring his voice as his son did his best to tumble out of his arms. "Liam. Liam…" he called. His son gurgled and raised his hand to press against his father's own._

_"You two look like you're having fun," Moppet remarked with a smile as she joined them on the balcony. "You have a good hold of him, don't you?"_

_Toby gave his wife a deadpan look. "I would hope so," he quipped dryly. Still, he slipped off his perch on the railing, and walked over to her. "He's energetic today."_

_"Are you, little one?" Moppet cooed, taking their son into her arms. "Is that right?"_

_Liam laughed and gave her a sloppy kiss that was more of a lick on her cheek. Moppet laughed with Toby and wiped away the spittle._

"Sire?"

With a frown, Toby willed the crystal to disappear before he turned about in his chair to face his guest. A small goblin—one of the newer ones, he hadn't had time to learn his name yet—crouched shyly behind the door.

Toby sucked on his lips for a moment to wet them before speaking. "Something I can help you with?" he asked, voice cracking from disuse. He had been out on the balcony longer than he planned, distracted by his crystals.

The goblin stepped out and joined him at the side of his chair. "Lady Cathryn has arrived, your majesty. She's waiting for you in the throne room."

Toby frowned. "Why didn't anyone come tell me she was here already?"

"We did, sire," the goblin admitted softly.

"Oh." _Wasn't much you could say to that_, Toby supposed; just another drawback of getting old. "Well then…best not keep her waiting."

"Very good, your majesty," he said. "Do you…require…assistance, your majesty?" The goblin finished with a bright, triumphant smile. Obviously he'd been practicing for awhile on his manners.

Toby fought not to sigh. There were days that he missed the more wild goblins' antics. Goblins tended to behave in cycles—every few centuries or so, they'd mellow out, but after a few short decades, they were energetic again. He'd learned to enjoy those brief respites when he was young, but now, now he wished he had more than his crystals to distract him.

But then, his granddaughter might provide him with a distraction now that she was here. Feeling a bit livelier than he'd been recently, he nodded to the goblin to help him up. Getting out of chairs, he found, was harder when your body protested so much, and he was disappointed to find he'd needed the help of his servants more and more now that he was older. The goblin tugged at him, then folded the blanket Toby had tossed across his legs, and tucked it under his arm.

"Shall we go, sire?"

Toby grabbed his cane and nodded. As they walked down the hall, the goblin grabbed his hand to guide him. Not that Toby needed it—his magic could make the walls bend out of his way if he staggered too close—but he didn't want to insult him by saying as much. Feeling the little goblin's hand in his reminded him oddly of his oldest son's when he was his age.

"Have we heard from Liam in awhile? That boy never remembers to write me anymore…"

"Prince Liam died twelve centuries ago, your majesty, in a jousting tournament," the goblin reminded him gently.

Toby frowned. _But Liam never even liked jousting…Or was that Josh who didn't?_ He had half a mind to ask, but decided not to. "Oh. Well, someone had best go get Moppet—she won't like missing Cat's arrival."

"The queen is also dead, your highness," the goblin answered.

Toby stopped. "…that's right," he muttered. That was right—he was the last left, even Jareth had passed, Sarah too, long ago. Even their children, and even their children. Even his children; _but,_ he remembered, _not my children's children._

"Your majesty?"

Toby sighed. "Sorry, little one…I was distracted again." He paused for a long time before he began to walk again. "We shouldn't keep Mena waiting for us."

"Cathryn, sir," the goblin corrected him so quietly Toby never heard him.

* * *

"Toby?"

The Goblin King blinked, coming back to himself before he looked over to the balcony's door way. Moppet stood there, one hand resting on the frame of the door, the other bracing the swell of her stomach.

"What are you doing out here? Bad dreams?" she asked, grin teasing.

Toby was quiet for a moment before smiling. It felt odd on his face. "You could say that," he answered cryptically, looking quickly back out to the Labyrinth.

"Will you tell me what of?" she asked mildly, joining him at his side.

He sighed and put an arm around her shoulders, drawing her closer. "I've forgotten them already."

She laid her head against his shoulder thoughtfully. "Mustn't have been too important then."

"Probably not," he agreed, his tone a bit warmer.

"And speaking of important things," Moppet started, voice wary. "We have to decide on a name for the baby yet."

Toby didn't look at her for a long while. "How about Liam?" he suggested finally with a grin.


	39. Concrete Angel

A different AU—say Jareth did make Moppet to replace Sarah, but who's to say he made her to be his mistress?

**Prompt: "Hate"**

* * *

All good little boys should be asleep now, but when have _you_ ever been a good boy? Instead, you sit at the top of the stair, crouched behind the corner, fingers shoved deep into your ears, and eyes scrunched up tight, like if you tried hard enough the fighting going on downstairs would disappear. If you concentrate hard enough then that vase wouldn't have flown through the air, nearly clipping your father's temple.

If you were good enough, your father wouldn't run from the house, get in his car, and speed off.

If you had been better, your mother wouldn't be crying next to the sink.

But you're not a good boy, are you?

And you know what happens to bad little boys, don't you?

"I wish…I wish…!"

A gust of cold wind. You look up, and there is a man with a mane of blond hair, and tooled coat of leather. Around his ankles, little deformed figures grin playfully at you. (It's a sad, sad day when you realize that only goblins look happy to see you.) The man bends down to look you in the eye—surprisingly, to you at least, he's smiling as well, amused as if he's heard a great joke. You wonder if he'll tell it to you.

He puts his index finger to his lips and winks at you. Quietly, you reach out your arms out to him, and he scoops you up. You feel safe there, like you used to when daddy would carry you around, but daddy hasn't done that in a long time. Your father says you're too grown up at five to do that anymore.

The man pats your back, humming something soft and cheerful, like mommy used to do a long time ago. He fishes a letter from his pocket and hands it to a goblin. "Put that in Sarah's room. I don't want her thinking I took him uninvited."

The goblin, smarter apparently than the others, nods and does as he's told. You watch him curiously as he slips into your sister's old room. She was supposed to be coming Saturday—she'd promise to take you to the zoo. You feel terrible for an instant—she'll be really upset to see you missing, even in no one else does. She's says she's your fairy godmother sometimes, but you think she's really an angel.

The soft look in the man's eyes tips you off that maybe he thinks so too. Before you can finish the thought though, he turns his face back to yours, a cheerful look on his face. _No one—_except maybe Sarah—has looked so pleased to see you in awhile.

"Let's get you home, shall we?" the King says cheerfully. "You can't very well run for yourself."

You nod. You wish you could say goodbye to your mother and father, but instead you lay your head on his shoulder. Quickly, you are asleep—he must really know magic then, because you sleep until morning comes to the Castle beyond the Labyrinth. When you wake up, you turn your head and see a child peeking over the side of the bed you're in.

"Awake, are we?" The Goblin King is there too, sitting at a desk. He still looks happy to see you, which you take to be a good sign.

You try to talk, but your tongue's stuck to the roof of your mouth. The child—a girl—hands you a cup of water and you drink too much, making water splash down your front. She giggles.

"Moppet," the Goblin King says warningly, before smiling at her.

She's instantly contrite. "Yes, papa."

You look between her and the Goblin King—Jareth, he says, just like in Sarah's story—while he talks, but you aren't really listening. (He probably already knows that.) She might have his hair, but she's Sarah through and through. You frown—your sister couldn't _possibly_ have a daughter of her own yet, let alone one your age. Could she?

Then again, Jareth knows magic, doesn't he?

You'll figure it out later, you decide, as you slip off the bed to join Moppet. Jareth tells her to show you around, so you let her take your hand and led you out the door.

"King Jareth, sir?" you pause, nearly jerking loose from Moppet on accident.

The Goblin King beholds you expectantly, cocking his head to the side like Merlin does when he sees something new.

"When will Sarah get here?"

He smiles. "Soon I hope."

You nod and follow Moppet.

Her hand and smile is warm; you decide this must be heaven.


	40. Sweet Child O Mine

Only ten more to go!

Moppet+Toby or Moppet/Toby? I'm not so sure on this one.

**Prompt: "Black eyes"**

* * *

_It's strange_, Toby muses, _more than strange actually, to find yourself back where you started_. In one of his literature classes the teacher explained about monomyth, or the Hero's Journey, and how in the end the hero returns to his home with some new knowledge, item, or ability that will help them be more complete, more helpful.

Toby wonders what he brought back with him that made it worth it—besides Moppet, but Moppet's neither an item, ability, or titbit of wisdom that can help him now. She can barely help herself—it took Toby and Sarah pleading and Jareth's threats to convince Irene and Robert to let her stay with them. Moppet has no special ability, no unique purpose that can help either of them now that they are out of the Underground. It annoys her, he knows, how she can't seem to adapt to a human's life.

But then Toby can't blame her—he can't either.

"There's something really fucking annoying, knowing you were only used to help someone else," he grumbles to her once as she lay companionably beside him on the other side of his too small bed. "I mean, I would have appreciated knowing that Jareth never meant for me to be king."

"Would you have put so much effort into it if you did know?" she asks and for once he wasn't sure how to answer.

_Still_, he thinks, _it would have been nice to know._

It wouldn't be so bad if he could have brought something back—he really did enjoy Moppet's company, but there were times that he would have killed to be able to use a bit of magic again, or play Goblin Polo once more. He had to relearn fencing—Irene only agreed to it since competitive sports looked good on resumes, not to mention it at least it stopped him from moping around the house—but without magic he learns slower, and he feels terribly clumsy, although his instructor ensures him he's progressing nicely.

"Sometimes," he says once, as Moppet joined him on the long walk home from classes. "I think it and you are the only things keeping me sane."

She smiles lightly. "I do try."

_And she does_, he thinks—there's been many a night that he's joined her either on his bed or hers and stared quietly up at the ceiling. She remembers, more than that, she still believes. "I was a prince," he says and she squeezes his hand and says "And a good one."

Still life is very drear—he misses goblins, fairies, Rock Callers, windy castles, ever changing winding walls, and magic. Dear God, he misses magic. But he spent it all once, to save the girl who lies besides him, staring up at the moonlight on the ceiling.

He worries it's the only reason she stays now—to repay the debt by keeping him sane.

_(He prays it isn't.)_


End file.
